What could've happened
by mak5258
Summary: Right afteralternate ending to threads: Jacob doesn't die when Slemac does, then Earth falls under attack by Ba'al... yeah, that summary kind of sucks. mild language if you care
1. Chapter 1

Author: mak5258

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters; the stargate wasn't my idea even though I think it's really cool

This story is really a prequel to all of the rest of my stories that I haven't written yet.

Lt. Colonel Sam Carter jerked awake in her chair, surveying her surroundings groggily. General O'Neill was gone from the observation room where she was seated, but the room below her hadn't changed much at all. Her father, still weak from Selmac's recent coma, was sleeping peacefully below, computer monitors blinked, and a few nurses kept watch nearby.

It had been a long week for Sam, her father had almost died when his Tok'ra symbiote fell into a coma, and she had almost proclaimed herself to her CO only to find that his affections were otherwise occupied. Then, everything had turned around. Jack had sat with her when her father was at his worst, and then her father had turned around. Selmac hat awaken from his coma for no apparent reason and, with generous amounts of medication and sleep, the pair of them were recovering well. Sam had refused to leave the area; she stayed by her father's side when he was awake, and watched him sleep from the observation room. For once, Jack hadn't made her leave to sleep, understanding how she felt.

Sam settled back down in her chair, folding her arms on the table and resting her chin on them, The next time she woke, she found that her father was awake and sitting up in bed. He had a tray of infirmary food on his lap, but he hadn't touched it. Looking up at her, he motioned for her to come to him. When she arrived at his side she could tell he was feeling better. His color was returning, his eyes had more life behind them, and he was giving her 'the look.'

"Sam, you should be at home… sleeping," he told her. His voice sounded perfectly normal, so different from the raspy whisper it had been only a few days ago.

"But I get paid to sleep here," she countered, attempting to smile and failing due to an interrupting yawn. Her father smiled appreciatively but his tone remained stern.

"Whether you're here or at your house, I'm not going to get better any faster," he reminded her. Sam nodded and was eventually convinced to go and find a bed somewhere on base.

Having left her father (with a satisfied look on his face) starting on his jello, Sam stumbled into a room with two sets of bunk beds. Trying one lower bunk and finding it occupied, she twisted around and fell into the other bed. She had barely gotten her coat and shoes off before she was asleep.

Red warning lights and cursing from the neighboring bunk woke Sam a few hours later. In the emergency lighting, Sam could see the General rubbing the side of his head and giving the bed a foul look as he put on his boots. Sam followed suit, making sure to avoid connecting her head and the top bunk. Sitting up quickly she surprised Jack into bumping his head again.

"D'oh!" He exclaimed. "Dammit Carter…"

"Sorry, sir. I didn't mean to startle you."

"Course, that's what you'd say if you did anyway," he pointed out, not making much sense.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, glancing at the flashing red lights as she laced up her boots.

"No idea, just woke up… hit my head too," he said grumpily.

The hallway outside their bunk room was empty, bringing suspicions and worry to the top of their minds. All of the connecting hallways were empty as well so the pair of them made their way to the armory before heading to the security center, the room where all of the security feeds displayed. The room was dead. Not only was it unmanned, but none of the monitors would turn on, and none of computer interfaces responded to Sam's various attempts to reboot.

"Control room," O'Neill ordered. Nodding, Sam followed.

The control room was in shambles. Chairs were strewn about, and keyboards were overturned, but everything seemed to be intact.

Sam righted a chair and tucked herself into the station. The blast door rose, revealing the shimmering blue event horizon and a roomful of nervous-looking SGV personnel. The 'gate shut itself off and the dialing computer went black. From the 'gate room, Jack yelled up to Sam, "Everybody's been drugged and tied together!" He poked one of the soldiers' cheeks and the poor man began to drool. Turning around he found a familiar face. "Siler! Siler, who did this?" No response.

Returning to the control room he was surprised to see Sam hit the monitor before spinning around in the chair, rolling over to what Jack only knew as a box of wires and flashing lights, and began pulling wires out and realigning them, "Don't break anything, this junk is expensive," he warned.

"I wouldn't be pulling it apart if it weren't broken already, sir," she assured him.

Twenty minute later, the dialing computer finally came back to life. Sam ran diagnostics and found security footage that made her worry. "Sir," she explained to her CO, "it's my dad; he's not himself."

As evidenced by the security footage, Jacob Carter had become violent about a half an hour after his daughter had left the room. He'd hurt the nurse who tried to get him back in bed, and the security that had been summoned weren't to happy about responding either. Sam reviewed the tapes and realized that Selmac had died and her father's sudden awakening had been the result of a goa'uld symbiote implanted by the last "tok'ra" to see her father before he passed out.

Jack found the "tok'ra" in the crowd of drugged sleepers, though he wasn't tied. Unfortunately, he was dead. "There went the easy answers," Jack said. He looked at Sam with pity in his eyes, knowing that she was wondering why she hadn't noticed and what she could've done to stop this from happening.

"O'Neill…" came a strangled call from the crowd, Teal'c's voice, only very quiet, muffled.

"T?"

"Over here, sir!" Sam called, tipping Walter onto his back in order to get to her friend. Teal'c was bound just like the rest, but the drug didn't seem to be working as effectively on him, probably due to his tretonin.

"ColonelCarter," he began, but slipped sideways. His eyes closed for a moment. Then, he sat bolt upright and began talking very fast. "You must hurry; the drug that was given to us will be fatal unless the antidote is administered soon… Your father had it with him; he went through the stargagte… But, he didn't want us… he could not find what he was looking for so he left hoping… you should not…" Teal'c was unconscious by the time Jack made it to his side.

"What'd he say?" He asked. Sam shrugged in response, looking confused.

"He was hard to understand…"

"Teal'c? No way!" Jack interrupted.

"… They were given a drug that will be fatal unless we get them the antidote soon…"

"That's not cliché," Jack said sarcastically. Sam continued to ignore his interruptions.

"What I want to know is how he got them all in here and all the computers offline without help…" she shrugged, unable to answer her own question. They prepared to dial out to the planet Jacob had retreated to.

The planet that the goa'uld controlling Jacob had fled to was a dismal place: Rain poured from black clouds onto muddy paths surrounded by gray foliage. The area around the 'gate was in such a hectic state that nobody noticed another addition to the crowd; soon after the 'gate shut off it activated again, letting a family jog through, leading a horse pulling a cart full of things to sell in the bustling market place.

Jacob traded various goods stolen from the SGC for clothes, discarding his hospital gown as quickly as possible, and other useful items. A wide brimmed hat hid his face and kept the rain away from his eyes. The planet he now occupied was very familiar o him, it was controlled by his master, Ba'al the fifth (the fifth clone Ba'al had made of himself.)

Jack and Sam arrived almost an hour after the goa'uld they chased, ad were very surprised at what they found. The planet was at peace, the marketplace was booming with business, and poster of Ba'al decorated the sides of the buildings. Luckily, Ba'al was not in the flesh anywhere near, and they passed unnoticed through the crowd. None of the merchants would say whether they'd seen Jacob or not without some sort of bribe. Unfortunately, the pair of them had nothing worth the information they desired. They decided a goa'uld would go straight to the top position in the new place, especially if the person in power happened to be another goa'uld.

The town hall was the most ornate building in the small town, and therefore it wasn't difficult to find. There was only one entrance, decorated lavishly with gargoyles that would've sent Daniel into excited speech lasting for hours. The challenge with the single entrance was that it would be difficult to sneak in. The merchants had set up their shops all over the building; some even displayed their wares from the stairs.

Jack and Sam entered the building, trying to be covert as they approached but failing. The merchants didn't say anything, but they watched them closely. Inside, it was colorful and architectural. Jack looked over at Sam ad was immediately reminded of an excursion to the waters of Antarctica, and the loss of a mothership. The rain had completely saturated her hair and was dripping off her nose in a way that reminded him of their near-death experience. He had wanted to kiss her, to tell her that he loved her, and hold her as they drowned; luckily, it hadn't come to that. He glanced away, fearing she'd read his face. Sam caught him looking at her and glanced away, thinking the same things about the same incident.

Moving away from each other to search for Ba'al and Jacob; they were quickly reunited. Townsfolk, jaffa and human, surrounded them, pointing various weapons at them. They were pushed and shoved until they were in from of Ba'al's previously unnoticed throne. Ba'al was seated in the throne, dressed in clothes tailored like the locals' but of brighter colors, and he was smiling. Behind him was Jacob, still wet and dripping from his recent trek through the rain, but smiling at Sam and jack's dumfounded faces.

They were disarmed and made to kneel before Ba'al. Ba'al proceeded to question them about the SGC, their IDC codes, the Asgard, the status of the other Ba'al clones… everything. Unfortunately, neither officer would say a word. Ba'al used a hand device and a pain stick relentlessly, getting no response. Finally, he had the goa'uld inside Jacob take Sam into a cage behind a closed curtain. Jack could only hear Sam's attempts at escape before he realized what was happening.

Too weak to react, he watched as Sam dragged her father from behind the curtain, her eyes glowing.

"No…" Jack yelled, attempting to go to Sam, the locals held him back. Sam stared at jack, her eyes not leaving his face. "Sam…" he said, the word almost inaudible. To his horror, Sam smiled. Everything inside him turned foul. Memories of Sam flooded into his mind their first meeting, her anxiety when she blew up her first sun, and her experience with Jolinar. He turned and attempted to get to Ba'al and strangle him; unfortunately the locals did not stand down.

"My queen," Ba'al said, addressing Sam.

Sam came forward calmly taking her weapon from the jaffa woman. She passed Jack very closely, brushing against his shoulder on her way to stand behind Ba'al. Within, Sam was screaming. She couldn't control her body or what she was saying; it was a thousand times worse than when Jolinar had taken over her body. This time, there was no communication from the creature occupying her, she was completely cut off. She could see her father slouched on the floor next to her CO, who was being held back from Ba'al with pain and anger in his eyes.

Jack and Jacob were sent back to Earth. They would've been worried about deactivating the iris, but it didn't seem to matter. Sam was the one that sent the code through, and the one that pushed them through the event horizon.

On the other side, the 'gat room was still filled with personnel. All of them were unconscious, and a few had already died. Jacob held up the small flask containing the antidote, explaining to Jack that it had to be airborne to work. Giving a rare example of his intelligence, jack retrieved a pair of tongs and a Bunsen burner from Sam's lab. He heated the liquid over the flame and watched the fumes penetrate the room, the soldiers and scientists coming out of the stupor as the fog in the room grew thicker.

In his office a few hours later, Jack was informed by the doctors that everyone that had received the antidote was going to be all right. Only six people had died before treatment had been administered, not including the man who had delivered the virus. Jacob was back in his familiar isolation room, recovering from Selmac's death and the other symbiote's abrupt departure. It had been lucky that the goa'uld had taken over or Selmac would have taken Jacob with him, but Jacob would rather that Ba'al's queen had never entered his life (or his head.)

Unfortunately, Jacob could remember nothing useful from his short experience with Ba'al's bride, however, frequent calls to and from the President enabled Jack to authorize SG-1 and -3 to go through the 'agate after Sam. Jack had become distanced from his friends concerning Sam, but made it clear at the briefing he wanted her back.

The table in the briefing room was full, Daniel and Teal'c sat on either side of Jack, and Colonel Reynolds and his team filled the rest of the chairs.

"I can't believe you just left her there, Jack!" Daniel complained. Jack didn't respond verbally, but the look he gave Daniel kept anybody from making any similar comments for the rest of the briefing. Teal'c observed the conversation with is usual stoicism.

"The President had given us authorization to bring her back whether we get the goa'uld out of her there or not. The tok'ra have offered to help with the… extraction… when she's here," Jack explained. His voice was even and business-like, but Daniel and Teal'c could tell he was hurting.

After a few more questions and an explanation of the layout of the marketplace and the building Sam was most likely to be in, SG-3 and the remaining members of SG-1 left. Jack visited Jacob to explain what was going on. "Why did they let us go?" He asked after Jacob was satisfied that Sam was going to be brought back.

"He just wanted Sam," Jacob shrugged. "The goa'uld that took me, Ba'al's queen, wanted Sam for the knowledge she possessed, and Ba'al just wanted Sam to be his queen's host," pain was evident on both men's' faces.

"Why did he torture us then, why not just take Sam as a host right away, it doesn't make sense," Jack sighed. Knowing there was no explanation for what had happened other than what Jacob had already said. Jack left a short while later, planning to go to the commissary for awhile and eat some pie. Jacob rolled over and feigned sleep to keep the nurses away.

In the commissary, Jack searched the selections for something good, but everything reminded him of Sam. Eventually, he stalked out without eating anything.

SG-1 and SG-3 were having trouble locating Sam. Not only had Ba'al decided to go on vacation, he'd packed up the town and taken most of them along. Daniel questioned everybody present relentlessly until one villager finally cracked. The 'gate address they were given was a known goa'uld hot spot. _Probably showing her off to all his snakehead buddies…_ Daniel thought to himself.

They went after her, ending up chasing Ba'al and his queen across four different worlds before they caught up.

"I'm sorry, Jacob," Jack said. "The President won't authorize anymore manpower for Sam."

The pair of them were sitting together in the commissary at what would've been a pleasant breakfast. Two days had passed since the last time Sg-1 or -3 had made contact. Jack was forcing Jacob to eat and walk around despite the fact that Jack hadn't touched anything but coffee since their return.

"_UNAUTHORIZED GATE ACTIVATION" _The call came across the PA, with accompanying bells and whistles.

Jack and Jacob were out of the room before the message had even finished.

'What've we got, Walter?" Jack asked, trying to sound nonchalant. The airman glanced up at him before continuing.

"SG-3's IDC, sir, but its not coming from the planet they left from…" he glanced at the screen again before softening. "They're coming in under fire, sir."

"Open the iris," Jack instructed.

The teams came through at a trot as soon as the iris opened. Sam was being detained by Teal'c, with most of SG-3 keeping their guns trained on her.

Sam was brought to the Sam cell she'd been held in when Jolinar had visited. The goa'uld in her head wasn't happy about it at all either. She paced up and down the length of the cell, sulking in the corner whenever anybody so much as looked at her through the window in the door.

In the briefing room, Daniel explained their troubles locating her and then capturing her. Jacob, finally well enough to attend something like a briefing, listened without saying a word.

The extraction was a difficult thing to watch. Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c were the only ones present when Jacob brought the device in. Teal'c held her still while her father pressed the device to the back of her neck. "You cannot do this!" The goa'uld yelled at them. It only made it more difficult. Jacob was stony faced as he activated the device. Daniel crossed his arms and held them there, most of the color draining from his face. Jack kept eye contact with Sam, not thinking about the device that was now making as ominous humming noise on her neck, thinking only about getting Sam back.

Sam collapsed back on Teal'c, the device deactivating with a disgusting squelching noise. Jacob put the device on the bed, inspecting Sam. The extraction technique had been perfected by the tok'ra, making it painless, but it could still be a traumatic experience.

Three days after the extraction Sam was cleared by the doctors and she decided to spend the rest of her time off at home. She hadn't had a pleasant experience and she couldn't help but want to get away from everything. Jacob would've offered to go with her, but he had been called back by the tok'ra, he was due to leave that evening. He would be discussing his future with them, though he wanted to continue as liaison between the council and Earth, he was also considering retirement. He had recovered well from the stress and the loss of Selmac; he obviously missed the symbiote's presence but he hadn't said anything so nobody else had either.

"I'm fine, sir," Sam assured Jack when he stopped by her lab when she was gathering her things together. She hadn't spoken to anyone about the time she'd been Ba'al's queen, as usual she was playing the silent soldier. When her father had inquired she had asked him to leave so she could get some sleep.

"Good," was all he had to say.

"They told me you barely ate anything while I was… gone," she commented softly.

"You were gone for a long time," he responded with a perfectly timed growl from his stomach. Sam nodded in agreement. "Sam…" he started. "Are you ever going to talk about it…? I mean… Daniel thinks it'd help," Sam's face had gone quiet at the comment.

"Being… a host… this time wasn't the same as it was with Jolinar," she started. Jack was surprised that she was telling him, he had been right outside the door when he had heard her dad asking the same questions. "Last time… last time Jolinar was trying to explain why she was doing what she was doing the entire time, she really felt bad about it. This time… I don't even know what its name was. I was just… stuck. In my head, alone…" she broke off seeing the look he was giving her. He came away from the door and stood close to her, a more personal distance.

"Sam, after Jolinar… I never wanted you to have to do that again… well, none of us did, but… especially after your reaction to even the tok'ra's request," he looked uncomfortable. Finally, he looked at her again, "I wish I could've traded places with you this time," he admitted.

Sam didn't know what to say. It was rare that her CO showed this kind of emotion, and even rarer that he would express himself to her. The moment ended quickly however, voices coming from the hall towards the lab caused them to step apart, Sam began searching her drawers for something.

"Hey, Dad, guys," she said, smiling, giving her father a hug. Daniel immediately got the look on his face that said "_Oh no! We didn't interrupt, did we?_" Jack shook his head to settle his friend down.

"Hey, kid," her dad responded. "I just dropped by to say good-bye," they hugged again. Jacob seemed rushed.

"Why the rush?" Jack asked.

"The tok'ra will be moving again soon within a week; if I'm out I need to be out before the move, if I'm in, I need to have everything packed by the time we leave."

"Ah," Jack responded. They all walked to the 'gate room and shook hands while the 'gate dialed.

Sam left soon afterwards, promising to lie down and sleep, and not do any work for at least another day.

When Jack dropped by that night he smiled to see her laptop next to her on the couch. "Carter!" He said, "You promised!"

Smiling sheepishly she nodded and turned it off. "Happy, sir?"

"Very," he said. He watched her for a moment, and she watched him. It was a few moments before they realized what they were doing, but when they did neither wanted to stop. It was funny how just looking at each other, without having to worry about security cameras or who might walk in, was the most wonderful thing they could've wished for.


	2. Chapter 2

X-302s flew overhead, something Sam had never expected to see in her own quiet neighborhood. What the advanced planes flew to face was something else that she had never expected to be dealing with so close to home; a goa'uld ship.

It had been a week since her father had left earth to move to the next tok'ra sight, she couldn't say that she was dying of boredom just yet, and she definetly wouldn't have chosen being awake this early.

Her neighbors had all run out of their houses and were standing in the street, Sam hadn't left her doorstep. Her cell phone was glued to her ear, in contact with General O'Neill at Stargate Command. "Sir, four X-302s just flew over my house," she said bluntly. She was wearing pajama pants and a tank top, a zip up sweatshirt loosely on top.

"I know, Carter, we mobilized about three minutes ago."

"Why wasn't I called?"

"I was dialing you as your call came through."

"What's going on?"

Her neighbors were starting to look to her for an explanation, knowing she was in the Air Force. She groaned at the thought of having to explain it to her grumpy, un-caffeinated neighbors before she had her own morning dose of coffee.

"Let me put it this way, Carter, everything went to hell about an hour ago. Ba'al is attacking and he isn't taking no for an answer."

"Ba'al?"

"Yeah, the one that hates us like there's no tomorrow, that Ba'al. He's started with Colorado Springs and Washington D.C. We're not sure if its because he's lost the Jaffa support and only has that many ships or if he's just waiting for something."

"Should we really be talking about this on the phone?"

"Carter, all classification has gone out the window. Get here ASAP," the line went dead in her hand and she snapped her phone shut, putting it in her sweatshirt pocket. She grabbed the closest pair of shoes, combat boots as it happened, and her SGC ID badge, heading to her car.

"Sam!" One of the women who lived across the street was in her driveway. Sam winced and looked over the top of her car at the woman, she was nice, had three kids, they'd had coffee a few times when Sam was actually home.

"Good morning, Beth."

"What the hell is going on?"

"Ummm…" More neighbors had joined them now, looking at Sam for information.

"Yeah, you're in the Air Force, right?" The man who lived next door asked. He'd come on to her when she'd first moved in but had been put off by the dog tags that now hung in plain view on her neck. Sam dialed the SGC again; it would take her a lot longer to get out of her neighborhood with all these people in her driveway, and filling the street.

A death glider zoomed overhead, tailed by an X-302. It fired and the death glider exploded midair, luckily the remains fell on a deserted park down the street. Neighbors shrieked as the playground equipment went up in flames, a playground that their children played on. The X-302 had taken damage, stumbling in for a landing on her street. The pilot opened the top and stumbled out. He was bleeding and seemed like he would pass out any second.

"Airman?" Sam called, rushing over to him, ignoring her neighbors. The man yanked off his helmet, putting a hand to his head and stumbling away from the craft that was sending up sparks from the cockpit. He looked around and smiled in a semi-conscious way when he saw her.

"Colonel Carter!" He saluted and promptly fell over. Sam checked his vitals and looked him over, her military training taking over, making it easier to ignore the neighbors and the blood that was getting all over her pajamas. There was nothing she could do for the pilot, though he was in no immediate threat so far as she could tell. She pulled the radio out of his hear and pressed it into her own, immediately picking up radio chatter on all stations.

Climbing carefully into the cockpit she crouched on the chair and looked over the console in front of her. A few careful adjustments and it stopped sparking. She used her sweatshirt sleeve to wipe the blood off the computer monitor and began trying to make contact. "Command this is Colonel Sam Carter, what is the situation?" She repeated over and over on different channels until she got a response.

"Carter?" It was Jack's voice. "What are you doing in the cockpit?"

"An X-302 crashed in my driveway, sir."

"Oh."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing much, how's the coffee?"

"Sir!"

"Sorry, nothing to report, the motherships are moving closer to the SGC though, there'll be three on top of us in a matter of minutes. You need to get here _now_ Sam."

"Yes, sir," she recognized the tone in his voice and didn't need to be told twice. She gave the X-302 a kick and it started right up.

"Wait, you know how to work these things?" Beth was at her side; Sam gave her a sympathetic smile.

"I don't really study deep space radio telemetry," she said, sealing the cockpit. Neighbors backed away as the quiet woman they'd all seen mowing her lawn the night before piloted the strange craft with obvious experience.

Sam didn't get far. An alkesh was flying straight toward her, as though its sole purpose was taking her out. "Sam," Jack's voice crackled over the radio, "you should be aware, Ba'al is sending alkesh after SGC personnel. One just blew up the apartment complex Teal'c lives in; luckily everybody was in the street looking at the sky but…"

"Understood, sir," so that was why the alkesh looked so purposeful. Sam maneuvered up and began firing on the larger ship, the shields held back most of the potential blows. Thinking fast, Sam piloted in close to the ship's hull, inside the shields and began firing. The alkesh went down, right on the already flaming park. Unfortunately, the explosion was slightly larger than the death glider's had been, and Sam's X-302 was very close. She went down too.

She leapt out of the cockpit, mimicking the action of the previous pilot. Sam searched the cockpit for anything useful to fight anything / anybody that came out of the fallen ship. She found a P90, unfortunately there weren't very many bullets left for her to use. Her neighbors had walked the short distance to the park and were now watching her reload the P90 with casual skill that surprised, and concerned them. Sam paid no attention, _Why did he have a P90 in here anyways?_ was all she could think.

The hatch blew on the alkesh and Sam cocked the weapon, using the X-302 as cover. Four Jaffa came out first; Sam felt an extreme dislike for those Jaffa who had stayed in the service of the Goa'uld. They began firing at anything that moved immediately; a dog was the first to go, taken by a staff weapon. People began really screaming then, running in the opposite direction. Beth and her immediate next door neighbor, Craig, ended up hiding behind the X-302 with Sam. She realized this when she spun around to reload and found two terrified faces staring back at her.

"You should get out of here," Sam told them, trying to ignore the pure terror in their eyes. This was everyday stuff for Sam, it was hard to imagine not exchanging ammo with a Goa'uld, but this wasn't some other planet; that was her house right down the street, with her recently trimmed lawn and freshly watered front garden.

"Like hell we should," Craig responded. He looked too scared to move. "We're safer next to the one with the gun than running brainless," he had a point, but…

"Yeah, but the one with the gun is the one they're after."

"Why're they after you? What did you ever do to them?"

"Oh, you have _no_ idea," Sam couldn't help but smile. She jumped back up and took down the rest of the Jaffa that had exited the ship. Now she waited for any stragglers; none came so she approached the hatch with caution.

Her neighbors peeked out from around the side of the X-302, not wanting to loose their cover, or their soldier protector.

Sam entered the alkesh and found Ba'al's first prime standing just inside the door, waiting for her. Sam raised the gun to let off a volley in his stomach but found that she was out of ammo. _Shit._

The jaffa grabbed her throat and dragged her out of the dying alkesh. "And now I have his favorite," he sneered, looking down at the woman struggling in his stranglehold. "My lord Ba'al will be most pleased," gaining a momentary advantage as the jaffa looked around; Sam twisted just right and slipped out of his hold. She punched him solidly in the face, right hook; she could hear his nose crack. Yelling in rage, the jaffa jabbed a pain stick into her side and gave her a kick that sent her flying across the road and into some bushes. She got up quickly, noticing that there were four grown men cowering behind the line of bushes she had crashed into.

Sam was out of weapons. There was a fallen Jaffa nearby, she grabbed his zat. Hiding the weapon behind her she came out from behind the bushes. The jaffa approached, holding the pain stick in front of him. He closed the distance between them remarkably quickly, jabbing her with the pain stick before she realized he was in range. Sam cried out, dropping to her knees, light coming from all the openings of her body.

Ba'al's first prime kicked her after a moment longer with the pain stick pressed to her skin. "Colonel Carter, I am glad to have the honor to kill you for my lord Ba'al."

Sam struggled to bring the zat around and fire it at him. He went down immediately, unconscious. Sam shot him again, standing with a disgusted look on her face. She removed the pain stick from him, shooting him a third time. Beth approached looking at the spot where the Goa'uld had been.

Sam limped over and threw the pain stick in the burning mass that had been two ships and a playground; she had never hated the Goa'uld than she did right now. On the ground she found a hand device, putting it on for lack of any better ideas what to do with it. She made her way to the airman that had piloted the X-302 into her neighborhood and took his thigh holster, putting her zat in it. The poor man was still unconscious. She turned to face her neighbors who were emerging from behind the bushes again. _What a sight._ Sam thought, looking around. Not only were there dead aliens all over their neighborhood, but she had just disintegrated one after he'd used an alien torture device on her.

"Can you make sure he's okay?" She asked Beth. The other woman nodded dumbly.

"Sam, what's going on?"

"We're finally being attacked, we've made them angry enough…" Sam trailed off, not wanting to give a full explanation. "There'll be an official report on TV in a few hours; I have to get to work."

"All this is going on and you have to get to _work_?" One neighbor asked, she thought his name was Joe but she wasn't sure, they'd never properly met.

"I'm Air Force…"

"Well I knew that…"

"How've you made them angry? Who's we? I thought aliens didn't exist…" It was the neighborhood conspiracy buff. The man was in his early twenties and never came out of his house, but Sam had seen him watching the neighborhood with binoculars from his upstairs window plenty of times. Sam just sighed, wishing she'd had a chance to have a cup of coffee before this had happened. _I really hate Ba'al._

She jumped when her sweatshirt began ringing. It was Mark. _I really don't want to deal with this now!_ "Hello?"

"Sam? Are you okay? I saw it on TV! What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing. I missed my coffee this morning, not really happy Mark, not at all. Oh, and Ba'al is attacking earth… yeah, he crashed his ship on that nice playground the kids played at last time and a couple of jaffa tried to kill me."

"What?"

"The alien that's attacking, I know him personally. He's not very nice. Really hates me and the rest of my team."

"What are you talking about?"

"Watch the news, Mark, I've got to go to work," she paused, feeling bad to be so short with him. "Sorry, I'm fine thank you for calling. I'll talk to you later if I can; get the kids in the basement and turn on cartoons or something, okay?"

"_What's going on, Sam?_" He wasn't happy but she hung up on him anyways, ignoring when he called back three times in a row.

She got in her car and honked the horn till her neighbors cleared her driveway. She drove off as quickly as she could, considering that the streets were full of worried people.

"The cars work? This isn't anything like that movie…" She heard one man say before she closed the windows and turned on the radio. Even the stations that usually played music had switched to live news reports. Announcers talked quickly, stress and worry evident in their voices. It was obvious they'd all rather be at home with their families, anywhere but at the office even if it meant the most recent information.

"_The President has yet to issue and official statement about our current state of affairs, however several prominent politicians have come forward to comment on the obvious lack of…"_ Sam switched to another channel, on which Kinsey was filling the radio waves with his usual bullshit. This only served to piss her off.

"Colonel Carter?" She jumped, she'd forgotten she still had the radio in her ear.

"Go ahead for Carter."

"General O'Neill says to be prepared to board the Daniel Jackson."

"What?"

"Ummm… All I've got is a slip that says you should turn off the car…" Sam immediately knew what he was talking about even though the officer obviously didn't. In this emergency all military personnel were getting unguarded amounts of information, half the time they didn't know what it meant and didn't have the authority or clearance to ask for more information. Sam pulled over and shut the car off, closing the door as her world disintegrated.

"Carter, you look like hell," Jack's familiar voice came from across the hall of Thor's ship. She looked down at herself and realized that she must look truly awful. Her hair had yet to be brushed and she was wearing no makeup, her pajama pants were stained with dirt and grass, the holster and zat looking decidedly out of place among the blue and green plaid. Her sweatshirt, gray at one time, had blood on the sleeves and down the front. Her pocket bulged with her cell phone and she had Ba'al's hand device on her left hand. Not to mention the old, scuffed and well worn combat boots.

"Not my fault I didn't get coffee…" She mumbled, not making eye contact. He was looking like he'd just walked away from a press conference in his dress blues complete with hat.

"I regret that I do not have any more suitable attire for you to change into before I send you back, Colonel, but I am able to provide you with the coffee drink you desire," Thor said. Remarkably, he looked concerned for her. She wasn't sure if she'd just gotten better at reading him or if he was just feeling very emotional.

"Umm," Sam started, remembering her previous experience with Asgard food. Before she could protest a steaming Starbuck's cup appeared on the floor at Sam's feet. Sam smiled and lifted the coffee, inhaling its rich scent. "Thank you, Thor."

"It is my pleasure, Colonel," with that he beamed them directly into the President's office. _Not good!_

The entire capital was on alert, the President pacing and secret service agents nearly dog piled the pair of them when they suddenly appeared. "Watch the coffee!" Sam blurted out, holding it close to her chest in a very unmilitary fashion. Jack smiled at her, removing his hat and turning to the President. The secret service agents retreated to the edges of the room, casting them both wary looks, especially Sam. Sam would've like nothing more than to sit down on the couch and drink her warm drink but she turned to face the Commander in Chief instead, sipping her coffee and trying to make herself look slightly more presentable. "Sorry, sir," she added hastily.

The President didn't seem to notice her coffee or her pajamas, or the blood on her pajamas, but he started talking very fast. "What the hell is going on? What the hell am I supposed to tell the press? I've had to unplug all phones just to keep the press out; they've even got my cell number!" The poor man was in a panic. Jack calmly took a seat on the other side of the desk, Sam followed suit and sipped her coffee.

Three hours later they were all still sitting in the same places, discussing what to do. The President wasn't sure what there best option was and it hadn't helped the Kinsey had burst in to make his feelings known. He hadn't taken kindly to Sam's attire either.

"Colonel why the _hell_ aren't you in uniform?"

"Watch your mouth, Kinsey," Jack had interjected.

"Sir, I woke at 0400 this morning when an X-302 crashed in my driveway," she gave him a look that dared him to respond.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry this took so long, I got halfway through writing this chapter before I realized that I was writing this pre-Ba'al-clones so I had to rethink the whole thing. I think it turned out alright though- enjoy :)**

General George Hammond walked in, saving Sam from Kinsey's retort. "General, nice of you to join us," he said instead. The General paid no attention to the man, throwing Sam an inquisitive look at her attire before placing a folder on the President's desk.

"Good morning, Mr. President," the President gave his a look that made clear that this morning was not 'good' in any way shape or form. "That is a compilation of all the ideas that have been thrown around by the ambassadors and myself over the past year concerning press releases and suggestions for revealing the stargate program."

"Give me the highlights, George."

"The favored option, sir, is putting together a speech that sets up the viewers for the documentary made by Emmitt Bregmann a few years ago which will properly acquaint the world with the stargate program. Then have a press conference somewhere indoors, lots of security, access to stargate personnel from the tape, and that's about as far as we ever got without yelling at each other."

"That'll work, George I want you to set that up, Kinsey, I don't even know why you're here, O'Neill I want yourself and the Colonel here available at that press conference; Colonel I suggest you find yourself a uniform and some more coffee," he would've smiled sympathetically on any other day but too much was happening and his face just wasn't responding for that sort of thing.

Sam went looking for her uniform, it seemed ridiculous that she should be preparing for a press conference when she really should be out fighting Ba'al, which was what she was good at. Unfortunately, she was a good little soldier and had to do as she was ordered.

Sam hadn't been able to track down a uniform for herself before the alkesh reached the White House; Jack had found himself a sidearm though. The pair of them were sticking to the President as close as the secret service were, only they'd dealt with this enemy before.

Outside they could hear the sounds of Ba'al's continued air attacks. President Hayes had finally agreed to evacuate when even the press stationed dutifully outside the White House gates had begun to flee for cover. Staff blasts exploded on the walls around them, taking out three secret service members before, Sam and Jack had already thrown themselves into action; Jack had grabbed the President and pulled him behind a column, Sam spun around, her zat outstretched. The three jaffa that had happened upon them were dead on the ground before the secret service had even drawn their weapons.

"Sir," Jack said, pulling the President from behind the column," we should probably keep moving…"

Nobody needed to be told twice, the slightly smaller group started jogging down the corridor, slipping through doorways and eventually exiting into an underground passageway. Unfortunately, their underground passage had been discovered by Ba'al and it was full of jaffa. _Now would definitely be a good time, Thor!_ Jack yelled silently at his short, gray friend.

They began firing, jaffa barring their path in both directions. Gunfire and zat blasts filled the tunnel making their eardrums quake. _C'mon Thor!_ Jack knew he was in orbit, if not he was already aiding the Promethius. Suddenly, white light flashed and they were all aboard Thor's ship. "Cease fire!" Jack yelled, fearing that one of the secret service agents would hit Thor. The said agents all drew in around the President, trying to figure out what had just happened.

Accustomed to this sort of travel, Jack and Sam holstered their weapons and looked around for Thor. "Thor? Hello?" He didn't get an answer. Sam went to the computer and started pushing buttons until a hologram appeared.

"I am glad to see that you are all right," He was looking at Sam and Jack, not the President, Jack noted. "I am sorry for the delay but my ship is currently in place defending the SGC; I had to remotely pilot this one to get you, and the beam had trouble locking on you due to the concrete tunnel you were in."

"Thanks Thor," Sam said, she pushed another button and brought up a screen displaying a map of the U.S. with little blinking dots showing where various ships were. The Promethius and Thor's two ships were protecting what they could with help from the X-302s and more traditional fighter planes. The screen showed that their allies that knew about the stargate program had already mobilized their own air forces and were on their way to help defend the planet. It appeared that Ba'al had a mothership and at least four alkesh. He was concentrating his strike to the U.S.; having moved away from just Cheyenne Mountain and Washington D.C., he was now attacking big cities.

Jack checked his watch, "Mr. President, Mr. Bregmann's film is running on every channel that is still functioning as we speak."

"Good, now where can we have that press conference?"

They ended up in the 'gateroom of the SGC. The secret service agents were going nuts, none of them had known anything like this existed, but they were all performing remarkably. None had even thought of leaving the President's side, even though they'd been shot at by aliens, beamed aboard an alien ship, and beamed back into a facility that by all records didn't exist.

"Walter, dial the 'gate and get the Tok'ra in on this! Thor's helping but he's got his own problems," he turned to Sam, "They owe us still, right?"

Sam could only shrug; they'd helped each other out so much in the past that the official score had been lost long ago. They met the rest of SG1 as they left the 'gateroom, all looking as disheveled as Sam, but at least they'd found the proper uniforms. There wasn't time to think of that now though.

The chevrons lit up and the 'gate 'kawooshed.' They made contact with the Tok'ra, Jacob Carter promised to set off in an alkesh right away, but he wouldn't be there until late that night, and he didn't know if any of the others would be willing to come. Jack decided to take what he could get and not press, thanking Sam's dad profusely before the 'gate disconnected.

After that things really went to hell.

Walter reported that Ba'al was landing his mothership on the mountain, thousands of jaffa pouring from inside of it and moving into Colorado Springs.

"Great," Jack said. The doors around them were crashing closed, effectively sealing the jaffa on the opposite side. Sam, still in her pajamas, had taken the President and his secret service into the briefing room, where she had finally convinced them all to sit and relax a moment before the real trouble started.

People came pouring in from the upper levels, shooting the surveillance cameras as they went, "What the hell are you doing!" Jack yelled, coming into the room in time to see one of the marines from SG3 shoot the cameras in the briefing room. "Those things are freaking expensive to replace!"

"Sir, Ba'al's got the surveillance room, so, unless we want him to be able to see everything…"

"Point taken."

"He's come that far that fast?"

"Yes, ma'am." The marine nodded.

"Shit," it was under her breath but the whole room heard it.

Daniel came through Jack's office, slamming both the entrances shut as he left. "They're jaffa in that hall; Mr. President, you should be evacuated to the alpha site…"

After some protest and comments about going down with the ship, the President finally agreed to go through the 'gate. The secret service men would be going with him as well as the nonessential personnel of the SGC, and the important people from all over the world that Thor had begun beaming into the 'gate room. Most of the people who appeared were completely clueless as to where there were, how they'd gotten there, and a thousand other things. The battle noises coming from the upper levels didn't help at all.

Sam made her way to the armory, bringing back as much as she could carry and handing it all out to the personnel gathered in the control room. The President stepped through the wormhole and the 'gate shut off, it's thirty-eight minute limit reached. Walter started the dialing sequence again, but not before it was activated from offworld.

**This is sooo short, I'm sorry! I'll work on this one instead of my other one all week, I promise! (Or at least I'll try too… I'm kind of distractible.) **


	4. Chapter 4

The familiar sound of impacts on the iris resounded in the 'gateroom. "No IDC, sir," Walter assured them. Suddenly, Ba'al appeared on the ramp.

"It's just a hologram," Sam said, watching the image go fuzzy for a moment before focusing. Ba'al looked around, obviously confused as to why the jaffa he'd just sent through weren't already taking over the 'gateroom. Then he saw the iris and made a face, he would never admit it but he had forgotten a key element of the SGC's defenses.

"General O'Neill!" He said, looking up into the control room. "I am here to negotiate your surrender."

"Not going to happen."

"I'm afraid it will be happening, very soon."

Behind them, jaffa could be heard firing at the blast doors. The evacuees that hadn't made it out with the last wormhole stepped together, away from the noise of the jaffa and away from the projection of Ba'al; most still didn't even understand where they were.

"How much time do we have till the 'gate shuts off?" Jack faced Sam, going into 'General running the base' mode.

"Thirty-two minutes… thirty one minutes," she told him, checking her watch.

The jaffa beyond the door chose that minute to break through; staff blasts went everywhere, the leftover personnel desperately defending the control room. The number of jaffa that were still in the service of Ba'al was amazing; the fact that the jaffa had gained their freedom on a planet that Ba'al was supposed to be lording over hadn't hurt Ba'al's ranks as much as they had suspected.

Jack looked around, he had a zat and was making use of it when he could, but he was far enough inside the control room that most of the jaffa were already dead when they reached him. Sam and Teal'c were shoulder to shoulder in the doorway leading to the stairs, nothing was getting past them. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt when he watched his friends fighting; he should be there with them. Especially since it was Ba'al that they were fighting; he had a special hatred for Ba'al. Daniel was closer to him, standing to one side of the doorway that led to the hall that lead to the 'gateroom. He was surrounded by airmen and marines, most of the jaffa were coming from this hallway.

The next half an hour passed excruciatingly slowly.

The jaffa were fought off, they retreated shortly before Sam called the two minute mark for the 'gate. Jack took her place by Teal'c so that she could sit at the computer and make sure that it dialed correctly and before Ba'al could redial.

Their plan was successful; Sam achieved an outgoing wormhole before Ba'al managed to dial in. Jack immediately began yelling at the dignitaries to go through, they did so after a moment's hesitation. "I want _all_ personnel through the 'gate five minutes ago!" Jack yelled, the airmen and marines that had been defending the control room immediately followed their orders, providing cover fire for each other as they made their escape. Within seconds it was just Jack and SG-1 defending the control room. "You're turn- get outta here!"

"No way, Jack," Daniel glared at him, disintegrating another jaffa. Jack shook his head.

"No, its not the time for this loyalty crap, I want you three through that 'gate."

"Wild equines would not move us from this position, O'Neill," Teal'c told him.

"Horses, Teal'c, its horses, and if you like your job, you'll get your ass through that 'gate!"

"I believe that our jobs depend on us staying here at this moment," Jack thought about it for a moment before realizing his friend was right, that didn't make it okay though.

"Carter! Get out of here!"

"No, sir," she said, looking a little sheepish at obeying a direct command. "We're not letting you go down with the ship alone."

Touched as he was by these sentiments, it was the fact that they all knew his plan that scared him the most. He had been planning to go down with the planet, just like any other good commander- now they weren't letting him. If he had wanted one thing out of his death, it would be his teammates' lives. _Especially Sam_, but he would never say that. He had appreciated her presence all the more since they'd taken the second symbiote out. Again, he would never say this, especially not to her. He glared at them. "_Fine,_" he turned back to their current state of affairs. Before he could do much strategizing, however, the radios crackled.

"General, are you and SG-1 headed through?" Colonel Reynolds, commander of SG-3, asked. He had been one of the last to go through the 'gate and was next in line to lead the military personnel that were now at the alpha site, right after Jack and Sam.

"No, colonel, we're going to stay and see if we can't get Ba'al to bounce in some other direction…"

"General, we should've stayed to help…"

"Don't question my command, colonel," his voice was stern even across the radio. Unlike with SG-1, who knew him too well, he could still force the other soldiers of the SGC to following his commands without question. "You're going to be needed getting all those egg heads on their feet again on that side- especially if we don't pull through on our end."

"Since when was the last time SG-1 didn't pull through?"

"Well, when what the last time Earth was attacked by the goa'uld?" Then, as an afterthought he added, "At least in this dimension…"

"Point taken, sir."

"Good, SGC out," he nodded down to Sam, who shut the wormhole down before Colonel Reynolds could protest further.

…………………………………..

An hour later, Jack was feeling really stupid for not allowing more personnel to stay and help. Ba'al had dialed the 'gate again, but the iris was holding with ease. Unfortunately, the four of them were having trouble keeping all the jaffa away from the significant systems, especially when they kept breaking through all the doors.

This was when things turned in their favor. Thor seemed to realize what Jack had done, and had done something to the doors. Even Sam couldn't figure out how he'd done it, but the doors would only open if one of them pressed their hand to it; they were shielded or something, neither bullets nor staff blasts seemed to have any effect. Thanking their lucky stars, the four of them made their way cautiously secured the immediate area

Thor suddenly appeared before them in holographic form, berating Jack for letting the rest of the other soldiers leave. "I didn't want to endanger any more lives than necessary," all the people present glared at him; understanding why he had ordered them all away, but not approving of it. Thor pursed his lips in his Thor-like way.

"Very well," Thor didn't press the matter. "Be aware that the Tok'ra have arrived to assist; they have a small fleet of alkesh.

"Alright then, watch who you're shooting at up there."

"Do not worry, O'Neill… Do not do anything stupid…" his hologram disappeared before Jack could retort.

"Hey! I never do anything stupid… I think of plenty of stupid things to do but I have Carter to tell me off before anything actually happens…" He was rambling, with a sigh he redirected his attention to his friends. "Fine. Daniel, Teal'c, you go that way, kill off the rest of them within this containment section, meet back here in twenty. Sam, you're with me."

"Yes, sir," Sam said, Daniel and Teal'c just nodded and headed in the direction Jack had pointed.

…………………………………..

The surface was in turmoil. Important people from multiple countries had disappeared in flashes of light, scaring those who were supposed to be protecting them. The alien ships had multiplied and now seemed to be at war with each other. Were they protecting Earth and attacking?

The population was in mass panic- most people could only see the ships on the television, but that was enough. Those who could see the ships in person were trying not to; they hid in basements, churches, storm protected areas, anyplace where they weren't alone.

Emmitt Bregman's documentary on the SGC had served as an explanation for the world as to why the aliens were attacking Colorado Springs instead of the capitols of the world. This didn't make them any more comfortable with the idea of aliens in ships above their planet.

**I know, its short - - - I'm working on it :)**


	5. Chapter 5

1Sam shivered as his fingers traced the scar on the back of her neck. She could practically feel the disgust rolling off of the man who was now lying on the floor. Jack had put up a fight when Ba'al had taken Sam by the neck, and had been knocked flat on his back by one of the jaffa. Ba'al smiled at the distress in his opponent's eyes before turning to look Sam in the face, **"Come now Colonel Carter, there must be some pleasure in his**," he smiled evilly. Sam would've broken his fingers if her hands weren't tied securely behind her back. He laughed when this though flashed against her eyes.

Daniel and Teal'c were tied similarly, and being held at zat point to the let of the General on the floor. He was having trouble getting up due to his own shackles. "**You were once my queen...**" he smiled at the memory, "**Nothing has to change.**"

"That goa'uld is dead," Daniel spat, not any more comfortable with Ba'al's current position than Jack, only he didn't have the rage that jealousy and unspoken and repressed emotions could bring about.

"**Yes, but all hearts move on,**" Sam's eyes clouded over and she attempted to get a hold of his fingers and do some damage. All she managed to do was ink her teeth into the fleshy part of his hand. He backhanded her and she landed awkwardly on top of her CO. Ba'al didn't want his snake of a mate back, now he wanted Sam.

Ba'al laughed again, obviously taking pleasure in the plight of SG-1, "**Take them away,**" he motioned to the three men, picking Sam up by her connected wrists. She winced at the pressure this put on her elbows and shoulders, quickly regaining her feet. **"We are going for a walk...**" he put his face uncomfortably close to Sam's, taking in her scent. She got her face as far away from his as possible, which wasn't far because he was still holding her wrists.

The jaffa frog marched the rest of the original SG-1 out of the control room, using the palms of their captives to open the doors that stood in the way. Ba'al smirked and used Sam's palm to do similarly, bringing her in the elevator and heading for the surface.

Ba'al's troops, made up of human slaves as well as loyal jaffa, had flooded Colorado Springs; they had killed most of the police and armed forces that had come to defend the city, though there were still small pockets of resistance. One such pocket was located in the parking lot of the SGC. Sam recognized Pete, her ex-fiancé, and a group of uniformed police officers firing at a squad of jaffa.

"**Cease fire!**" Ba'al called out to the police officers, holding a pain stick dangerously close to Sam's chin. She struggled slightly, unwittingly pushing herself closer to the goa'uld in an attempt to escape the torture device he was brandishing. He smiled at this, still approaching the group of men now at a stand still. All of them were pointing their weapons at each other, though none were firing. **"Lower your weapons, tauri, or I shall kill her.**"

Pete's eyes gave everything away even to somebody who didin't know him nearly as well as Sam. He tipped his gun on its side, beginning to raise his hands. Sam struggled again when it was apparent Pete wasn't going to try to save her. She spun herself around, getting behind Ba'al and pulling on his neck with her restraints. He was tipping over backwards on her, she sagged under his weight but didn't stop pulling. The goa'uld gasped for breath, "**Jaffa!**" He called out desperately, "**Kree!**"

Pete finally came to his senses, taking out a jaffa before they knew that they were fighting again. The firing immediately stopped when Sam screamed out in pain. In the course of the last few seconds, Ba'al had remembered that he was holding a pain stick and had jabbed it into her thigh. This had brought both of them to the ground, though Ba'al had already risen and was jabbing it into her again. Sam cried out and Pete fired three shots into Ba'al's right shoulder.

Ba'al spun around, not amused. He sent Pete flying backward with the hand device. Sam kicked him in the shins from her position on the ground, getting a few good kicking in before he redirected his attention, and his pain stick, to her.

She was sure he'd decided to kill her. She couldn't breathe anymore. He hadn't removed the pain stick from her skin for more than a minute. Her entire body was screaming in protest, her mind was despairing. The familiar sensation of dematerialization enveloped her, and she suddenly found herself on an alkesh. Ba'al ignored their change of scenery, assuming it to be his own alkesh, until a fist connected with the side of his head so hard that it sent him flying across the width of the cargo ship.

Sam was almost unconscious when the pain finally stopped, she struggled against it. There had to be a reason for Ba'al to stop, and now they were on an alkesh, she had to get back to the SGC to get the others. She struggled to get to her feet, attempting to throw off the nausea that threatened to overcome her. She managed to get to her knees before she felt a familiar hand on her back.

"Sam, honey..." It was her father. He was hovering over her as any father would, she could feel the trace amounts of naquadeh that Selmak had left in his blood. Somehow it was soothing. Without a word she collapsed in her father's arms, out cold.

Jacob lay his daughter on her back, carefully straightening her out; she looked peaceful, like she was just asleep. He turned his attention back to the fallen system lord, who was still reeling in the corner. Jacob removed the pain stick from his hand, pushing it into Ba'al, who cried out in pain. Jacob quietly finished with h im, using a zat to disintegrate his body before returning his attention to his daughter.

Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c had all been locked in different containment cells in the bowels of the SGC. Well, it wasn't really the bowels because the stargate took up most of the lower level, but the brig was the most obscure place on the base. Jack was pacing his cell, furious with Ba'al for what he had done to Sam, even more furious about what he'd been doing to Sam than what the system lord had been doing to him.

He couldn't have been more surprised when Sam burst through the door of his cell, unaccompanied by even a jaffa. "Sam?"

"Sir," she was still a little woozy from her bout with the pain stick, but it was passing. It was her turn to be surprised though; a suddenly emotional Jack pulled her into a fierce embrace, pulling her into he cell and holding her close. "Sir?" She repeated, a little softer. He couldn't say anything, he was just glad she was okay. "Sir, my dad's right outside getting Daniel and Teal'c..."

Jack immediately let her go, knowing how uncomfortable everything would be if her father happened to walk in on them. They were only hugging, but even that wasn't really supposed to be happening. He cursed the military, and his part in it, and wished that they were someplace safe and alone where they could talk... among other things.

"Hey Dad!" He said happily as they stepped out of the cell, coming face to face with the three men coming around the corner. If any of them were confused why Sam followed Jack out, or was even in the cell at all, they didn't get a chance to express it. A group of jaffa came around the corner and began firing- they all ran for their lives.

They split up after meeting another column of jaffa in the next corridor.

Sam ended up in her lab, surrounded by familiar things; her laptop, various experiments, deemed 'doohickeys' by the General, but nothing she could arm herself with. She looked down at herself, still dressed in pajamas and a sweatshirt. Her cell phone was ready to fall out of her pocket, but the bullet-proof vest was holding it in; Ba'al had confiscated her zat and hand device.

There weren't even any experiments in the lab that she could use to harm her attackers, and they grew closer every second. She hid behind her desk, eyes still searching the room.

The jaffa were at the door, looking in; looking for her. Her gaze became more desperate- at this point she would've settled for a frying pan to hit them with. Then, there it was. The small white stone completely covered in Ancient writing. Daniel had found it on P3X-who knows what; it was a transporter. It would bring her to the same docile planet that it had been found on.

Sam sprinted across the room just as the commotion started outside.

The jaffa in the door fell at the same moment Sam was enveloped in a bright greenish light, "SAM!" Jack yelled, thinking the jaffa had hit her with something. Then she was gone.

Sam appeared in the field, her knees feeling like jello. She quickly regained her composure and looked around; she hadn't landed far from a small farmhouse, deserted by the looks of it. Looking around she found that much had changed since her last visit. A great battle had taken place.

Ships were strewn over the field, most of them looked damaged beyond repair. That was when she noticed the stargate. It was on the ground, half sunk into the ground, the DHD was sitting in its usual spot, looking normal. Sam didn't want to get her hopes up.

She wasn't able to find any suitable clothes in the farmhouse, but she did find clothes that weren't blood-soaked pajamas. It was mostly leather; knee high boots that tied up the front, and soft leather pants that tucked into the boots, the shirt was more like a sleeveless bodice, compressing her uncomfortably; whomever usually wore these had a smaller chest. Sam loosened the laces on the front of the shirt so that she could breathe, ignoring the sexual statement she'd be making when she returned home.

She searched the rest of the house after she was dressed, looking for any weapons she would be able to use to defend herself, even though she'd return with a ship. Nothing stood out; she found a frying pan, chuckling to herself, but she left it where it lie.

Jack looked around the room; Sam was definitely not there. A white stone was sitting where she had been standing when she disappeared but nothing else. "No, Jack, don't!" He heard Daniel say from the doorway as he bent over and picked it up.

"What?" He asked, spinning around to look at Daniel, rubbing the smooth edges of the carvings on the stone. Daniel was no longer there, though, instead he saw a field of something that resembled corn, littered with ships. He looked around him and saw Sam heading toward a ramshackle farmhouse. The stone was no longer in his hand, so he figured he might as well follow his 2IC.

He entered the house to find that she had disappeared completely, something was moving around upstairs though. He went to investigate, as he neared a window he heard the front door slam. Looking down he saw Sam making her way back to the ship-ridden fields, wearing a lot of leather. He looked down at her, appreciating the open bodice, and not leaving the window to run after her until his 'view' was out of range.

"Sam!"

"Sir?"

"Hi..."

"Sir, how did you...?"

"That stone thing, I didn't know what it did but I picked it up to put it on the table and I ended up here."

"If you'd read my report you'd've known what it does."

"Yeah, well, I only read the exciting ones," Sam rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, c'mon, Carter; that's most of them."

"True, sir," she smiled. He should have scolded her for rolling her eyes, he was her CO, but he hadn't. That was one of the reasons she liked him so much. She decided to stop thinking about why she liked him and start thinking about how to get them off the deserted planet.

"So, where's the 'gate?" Sam jerked her thumb toward the half buried ring a few hundred feet away. "Guess we'll be taking a ship then."

"Yes, sir. It'll be helpful when we get back anyways; another ship is always a good thing."

"Lets not crash it, okay?"

"I thought we'd agreed on that _last_ time we crashed a ship."

"Well, I guess we did, but I wasn't really..." her chuckle and gentle smile cut him off. He didn't trust himself to speak when she was smiling at him like that.

Daniel was sure that Jacob was going to give himself a heart attack. He was extremely worked up about his daughter's disappearance. "What do you mean its only a matter of time?" Jacob was glaring at him, not quite yelling, but a vein on his forehead was pulsing dangerously.

"They have a stargate where they were sent, its only a matter of time before they 'gate home."

"How do you know where they went?"

"The stone transported them to a planet that we visited recently, it's a quiet, farming planet. Nice locals, they like Sam. They'll probably just say hi, 'gate home, save the world..." Daniel knew he was making light of the serious situation, but somebody had to calm Jacob down, now that Selmac was gone.

Their conversation was interrupted by a number of jaffa as they attempted to retake the control room. Thus reminded of their situation, Jacob and Daniel returned to the fight, hoping Sam and Jack would be able to figure it out for themselves.

It looked as though Ba'al had attacked this planet on his way to Earth. Their evidence; Ba'al's corpse.

"How is that possible?" Jack asked her, upon seeing the dead system lord.

"I don't know- Dad killed him after he ringed us aboard his cargo ship..."

"Can we say he cloned himself and get back to Earth?"

"If you say so," they hauled his body and those of several jaffa off the ship, removing their weapons. Sam reluctantly took this Ba'al's hand device for herself.

The ship they had found the dead Ba'al on was relatively intact; Carter cannibalized another ship to get extra hyperspace crystals, and to fix the control panel. After only an hour of work, they were ready to take-off.

"So, how long of a flight are we looking at?" Jack asked, settling in the pilot's chair; Sam had slumped in the other chair, exhausted from the events of the day.

"Almost 24 hours, sir."

"What!"

"It's one of the closest planet we've 'gated to yet, sir! Stop complaining..." She was doing it again, chastising her CO. She shut her mouth, slumping further into her chair.

"Fine, fine..." He took off, following her directions to get them pointed the right way, and set the auto pilot as soon as they were in hyperspace.

Four hours later Jack was bored out of his mind and Sam was soundly asleep. Unlike his 2IC, he had gotten more than enough sleep last night, and he'd spent most of the afternoon locked in a cell in the 'bowels' of the SGC.

He stopped pacing and settled down to watch her sleep. He would never admit how wonderful it was that she trusted him enough to sleep through a spaceflight, especially when earth was under attack. He knew he was staring, but it couldn't be helped; there was nothing else to look at on the ship, and she was wearing a lot of tight-fitting leather. Nobody would guess what she was capable of if they looked at her now; she was curled in a ball in her chair, her knees pulled up to her chin and her arms wrapped around them. A sword hung from her belt, obviously not _her_ sword. She'd mentioned not being able to get it off the belt when she put the clothes on, and had complained about it while she had made the necessary repairs to the ship. He smiled to himself.

She stirred in her sleep and Jack quickly became entertained with the color playing against the window in front of him. Sam smiled as she came around, knowing the look on his face even though he wasn't looking at her anymore.

"How long was I out?"

"Four hours, thirteen minutes, and... nine seconds," he said, glancing at his watch.

"Really?"

"Carter, I don't know..." He said, smiling. "Four hours-ish."

"Oh, it felt like a lot longer," she realized that he had been joking. It wasn't fair to joke when she wasn't properly awake. "Anything interesting happen?"

"Well, this rushing space thing is still blue. It's been blue for four whole hours... I"m starting to get the feeling that its never not going to be blue," he motioned to the window in front of them. Sam chuckled.

"Only twenty hours to go, sir."

"Well, I can think of much more interesting things to be doing..." he cut himself off, he hadn't meant to say that aloud. Sam's mind instantly flew to the incident earlier when he had pulled her into his cell. What was that all about anyways? It had been years since their feelings had been so close to the surface.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Jack needed another distraction. "So... why do you have a sword?"

"Because its stuck, sir," he raised an eyebrow. "I can't get the scabbard off the belt and I figured that if I had to wear the scabbard I might as well have the sword that goes along with it.

"If you say so," she scowled at him.

"If you think you can get it off, be my guest," she unbuckled her belt and handed it to him. He pulled the sword out, setting it next to him on the floor and began pulling on the scabbard. Sam picked up the sword to keep herself occupied, swishing it around. She had tried fencing at the Academy as an extracurricular activity, one that she had given up as she had come closer to completing her studies. Still, the sword felt remarkably familiar in her hands.

Jack watched her swinging the sword around out of the corner of his eye. At first he was worried she'd send it flying and it would end up in some vital system, or him, but after a moment he realized that she looked comfortable with the metal thing. He reminded her of Ishta, all dressed up in leather, waving weapons around.

Both of them were interrupted when something on the control panel started beeping. Jack handed her back the belt, scabbard still attached, and went to check it out while she put the belt back on.

"Sam!"

"What?" She came up beside him, pressing in close so she could see. It was the little things like that that were the proof of their emotions; pressing closer than necessary when it was excusable, brushing her wrist when she handed him a report, keeping eye contact a moment longer than needed.

"I think the hyperspace crystal thingies are about to fail."

"Yeah, they are."

She sprinted back into the engine room yelling over her shoulder; "Sir, can you bring us out of hyperspace so I can fix this without killing myself?"

"Sure thing."

They slowed, dropping out of hyperspace as Sam reached the proper control panel. She pulled it open and began her investigation; one of the crystals was black and burnt out. Swearing under her breath, Sam searched the spares she had taken from the other ships. Finding the one she needed she began fitting it in place. "It should work now, sir," she walked back to the control board where Jack stood.

"Yeah, but it doesn't," groaning, Sam walked back to the panel, looking it over and switching a few crystals around.

"Now?"

"Nope."

"Dammit..." She began looking for other, less obvious, problems. Jack joined her after a few minutes, watching her work. "Why do you always do that?" She didn't look up.

"Do what?"

"Watch me."

"You're much more entertaining than all those boring stars going past incredibly slowly out there."

"Sir, even though we're not in hyperspace we're still moving faster than the speed of sound."

"Yeah, but I'm used to moving faster than light, therefore this is slow."

"If you say so, sir."

"I do," he smirked, he'd missed chats like this in the year that he'd been in charge of the SGC.

Sam continued with her work, but his gaze was distracting. She was very aware that her butt went up every time she bent down to deal with some little problem she found; and very aware that he was probably looking at said butt. She smiled to herself, surprised that she didn't really mind that much.

Sam pulled out another compartment, the last one she had to check before she was out of ideas. This seemed to be the right compartment, sparks were flying out of it, a few different wires seemed to have crossed themselves after the crash and the strain of hours of hyperspace travel wasn't helping Squatting carefully, she reached in and untangled the needed wires, flinching at the spark that shot up her arm. "Sam?" He was worried- the spark that had traveled up her arm was visible, though painless.

"I'm fine, sir."

"If you say so..." A moment later he caught her as another, less harmless, shock shot up her arm. She flung herself away from the panel, slamming it closed with her foot. He held her carefully, getting a slight shock when he first grabbed her. The small hairs on her neck and arms were standing on end, and the hair on her head was disheveled. "You okay?" He asked, looking down at her. She took a mental inventory of herself.

"I think so," she winced when she tried to sit up and pull away from him.

"I'm afraid I disagree..."

"Let me sit for awhile, sir... check if the hyperspace with work now."

"You're sure?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine..." She gave him a look that made him move, even if she was his subordinate.

A few seconds later Sam felt the familiar tug that meant that they had entered hyperspace. Knowing this, she allowed the darkness that had been pulling at her to take over.

"How do we always get ourselves into these situations?" Daniel wondered out loud to Teal'c. The pair of them were standing at the only entrance to the SGC that hadn't been completely locked down by the Asgard. Only the small escape hatch on the top of the mountain would be able to open or close until Thor came and removed the shields and safeguards he had installed.

The world was still in chaos, but the disappearance of their leader had caused some jaffa to loose faith. A few motherships had turned around and fled; with this drop in numbers, the Tok'ra, Asgard, and the Promethius were gaining the upper hand. Cheyenne Mountain was no longer the direct target, the jaffa were choosing sights at random, and his helped those in the air.

Both of the men guarding the SGC were worried about their friends, not only Sam and Jack but Jacob, who had taken his Alkesh and gone to fight. They were both feeling a bit helpless, but they were far from bored. Plenty of jaffa were still around to try and get into the SGC.

Jack had panicked as soon as he saw Sam lying flat on her back, eyes closed. She never did that, not even in sleep; she had slept on her side on every single mission they had ever been on, he knew because he didn't let himself sleep until he saw that she was asleep.

"Sam? Sam!" He was shaking her shoulders, tapping the side of her face, he tried pinching her forearm but she wouldn't wake up. He checked her vitals again, she was definitely still breathing, and had a steady, normal pulse. "C'mon Sam, you've got to wake up," desperation tinted his voice.

Without warning, she woke up. Sitting straight up and nearly knocking heads with her CO. He pulled back just in time to avoid a concussion. "Whoa, slow down there..." She didn't seem to be able to hear him, she grabbed his forearm in a vice grip, staring straight ahead. He looked where she was looking but couldn't see anything. "Sam?" No response. "Colonel Carter?" He tried, barking it like he had so many times in the past. Still, no response. "Sam, what's going on?" He waved a hand in front of her face. That got her attention, her eyes followed the hand and eventually made their way down the arm and up to the face, he smiled reassuringly.

"Jack...?" Never had somebody saying his name caused such a stir of emotions inside of him. She hadn't said 'sir', or 'General', she had said 'Jack..' Just saying that name instead of any other name was enough permission for him to pull her close. She didn't hesitate, and for the second time in twenty-four hours they clung together in a hug that wanted to be more.

"Are you all right?" He asked, holding her away from him and looking her in the eyes. She looked all right, but she had looked all right when he had left to put them back in hyperspace.

"I think I'm going to be okay," she smiled, trying to hint that she wanted him to hold her again without actually pulling him back towards her, or saying some dumb line. It seemed to work because she was pulled close again a few seconds later.

The hug slowly turned into something more. They were awkward about it at first, their minds screaming that it was illegal and that they would be court marshaled and thrown into separate jail cells. Jack, however, wasn't about to let the opportunity pass him by twice in one day, and this time her father was miles away. He kissed her, tenderly at first, seeing how she would react. When she didn't shove him away or protest, he explored her lips more intensely and was surprised when she was the one who first sought entrance to his mouth.

They dropped out of hyperspace unexpectedly, they autopilot telling them that they were in stable orbit around their home planet. Jack and Sam had been busy with each other for the entire ride, refusing to worry about not being able to do anything on their trip home, and enjoying the time that would've been spent in complete boredom otherwise. They smiled at each other as they stood up, finding picking up various items of clothing from various spots. They had twenty hours together to come to terms with their relationship and the levels they had taken it to; no decision had been reached concerning where they would progress to, but they had bigger fish to fry anyways.

Explosions and debris rained around them as Jack carefully piloted the cargo ship closer to Cheyenne Mountain. It was apparent that Ba'al's forces were making their last stand a few miles up and away from the base.

"_Who approaches?" _They were hailed by the goa'uld vessel; the voice sounded hopeful of reinforcements. Jack responded by blowing the ship that had hailed them out of the sky. This time they were hailed by the Asgard ship.

"_Who approaches?"_ It was Thor.

"_Thor, buddy, it's us."_

"_Who is 'us', O'Neill?"_

"_Carter and me."_

"_Where did you go, many people were very worried about your disappearance."_

"_Doesn't look like you needed to worry about it."_

"_We were more concerned about the repercussions of your disappearance after we have defeated Ba'al's forces."_

"_How do you mean?"_

"_There will be much to tell the Earth people once this is all finished, and the pair of you play a major part in the explanation."_

"_Right,"_ if he didn't sound happy it was because he wasn't.

The last of Ba'al's ships exploded in a huge flash of light. It was completely destroyed by the explosion, leaving only small bits of flaming debris to fall to the ground, not big enough to break any roofs in. The fleet of ships made its way to Colorado Springs, two Asgard motherships went into orbit before Thor beamed himself down next to Daniel and Teal'cthe Promethius came to orbit nearby, waiting for repairs. All the Tok'ra alkesh disappeared after dropping Jacob off on the ground. "Jacob?" Daniel had asked at this.

"They need to get the ships back for repairs, I'll be joining them after things have settled around here."

"Just wondering," Daniel smiled at his friend before looking at the alkesh that had just landed down the hill from them.

They were all surprised when Sam and Jack walked down the ramp of the alkesh. Sam was wearing leather garments that didn't cover her well at all, and the general was wearing a satisfied grin.

"Jack! Sam!" Daniel greeted them.

There was a commotion nearby and a herd of policemen, reporters with cameras, and people who lived in the Springs came running up the hill. Sam saw Pete and tensed, but Jack was close enough that the sight of him didn't affect her as much as it had in times past. She looked around at the faces of her friends, they were all haggard, tired; compared to them she and Jack looked great. "What happened to you?" Jacob asked, noting his daughter's clothing and her much more rested appearance.

"Went to a lovely planet and found a farmhouse that had some good clothes," she glanced down at herself, she hadn't laced the bodice as tightly as she had the first time when she put it on, mostly because Jack had had trouble getting it off when she laced it up too tightly. She flushed at the thought. "The 'gate was half embedded in the ground, we had to cannibalize a few of the other ships to get this one to work."

"And even then we had some problems getting here."

"I'm glad you're okay," he gave his daughter a hug.

"You shouldn't have worried."

"What else is a father supposed to do?" He got a smile out of that.

The group of them turned to face the onslaught of reporters. Pete was at the front, yelling at Sam at the top of his lungs. "Why wasn't I told! I have clearance! This is unacceptable!"

"Shut up, Pete," Daniel warned, but not before Sam had slugged him, making solid contact with his jaw.

"Shut up, Pete," Sam repeated. Daniel was suddenly very glad that she was on his side, and Jack's smile couldn't have gotten any wider; seeing Pete had brought jealousy and dislike to his face, and seeing Sam hit him had made everything better.

The reporters were ridiculous. They had abandoned their families and homes to come and report _'_the story of the century_.' _Of course, this story would be all over everywhere in a matter of hours and there was no way that anybody could claim to have the first 'scoop.'

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jack heard himself yelling at them. "Don't you people have families to go to? Homes to fix?" There was some mumbling among the reporters but then they started asking questions. "We will _not _be answering any questions right now; there will be a press conference tomorrow night, any interested just show up in the parking lot down there..." he glanced at the parking lot, it had a huge hole filled partially by the death glider that had made it. "Until then I'm going to have anybody found on this property shot; you have thirty minutes to get clear."

His point was made, the reporters high-tailed it off the property. Most of them left strategically placed handheld video recorders behind or sound equipment, but the soldiers who patrolled the area for the slackers found the cameras and destroyed them.

The 'gate wouldn't connect a stable wormhole between the Alpha site and Earth. Something was wrong at the Alpha site. Unfortunately, everybody was busy on Earth, trying to get things to settle down. They hadn't wasted any time; it hadn't been an hour since Ba'al's forces had fallen, and everybody was already high-strung. This was the last thing they needed just now. "Chevron Seven will not lock," Sam repeated for the hundredth time that afternoon. They'd been trying nonstop. "Sir, permission to take the cargo ship and go to the Alpha site and fix the problem?"

"Permission granted," he said reluctantly. He didn't want her to go alone, but it was one of the things he'd have to live with; nobody could be spared. Sam was the perfect one to go, she'd know how to fix the problem and be able to defend herself if need be.

"Thank you sir."

"I wish I could come with you," he muttered under his breath as she passed, she turned around and gave him a shy smile.

"It's only a five minute trip after I get into hyperspace, sir... there's no time for any... fun," her smile turned a little more flirtatious as she walked out of the briefing room. Jack clenched his teeth to hold in a groan.

People were crowded around the ship, but they made room for Sam when she emerged from the mountain. She hadn't bothered changing out of the leather, it was surprisingly comfortable, she was also very aware of how uncomfortable it made Jack. She smiled to herself; most of the people gathered around the ship probably thought she was an alien. "Ma'am!" A reporter asked, running towards her. "Ma'am, could we have a word!" Sam looked at them, trying to look intimidating, her cell chose that moment to ring.

"Carter."

"Sam! Smile, you're on national television!" Jack was smiling on the other end and she could tell.

"What?" She looked back at the reporter that had just asked her for information.

"Smile for the camera!" Jack laughed, Sam responded by smiling brilliantly at the camera, she heard Jack's breath catch in his throat. "Not fair."

"Yes, sir."

"Carter, give them a little reassurance, answer a few questions, nothing more."

"Yes, sir."

"Ma'am could we have a word?" The reporter asked again.

"Very well," she said folding her phone closed and tucking it back in the pocket near the scabbard she'd been keeping it in. As soon as she had responded about twelve microphones were shoved in her, and another four dozen camera lights blinked to life.

"Are you an alien?" One of the reporters from the back of the crowd asked, sounding a bit nervous.

"No," Sam shook her head calmly, casually saluting the camera's. "Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter, USAF."

"Air Force?"

"That's what I said."

"Where's your uniform?"

"Well, I woke up this morning when a ship crashed into my driveway, spent most of the day in my pajamas, and ended up light-years from here where this was the only change of clothes," she said, not attempting to hide the sarcasm.

"Who attacked us?"

"Ba'al."

"As in, bocce?" Sam chuckled to herself, expecting her phone to ring again with her CO on the other end.

"No, as in a fallen goa'uld system lord out for revenge."

"A what?"

"The goa'uld are parasitic life forms that take unwilling human hosts. They ruled over countless worlds for thousands of years until recently, when my team and our allies... caused an upset," she said, not wanting to go into the entire story. "There'll be a documentary running soon and it'll tell you all about them."

"So we were attacked by an evil race of parasitic aliens and we defended ourselves with the help of another alien race?"

"Yes," Sam started walking back up to the ship.

"Colonel!" A few yelled out in protest.

"I'm sorry, I can't give a full interview now, I've got to go get the President..." She mentally kicked herself; all of the reporters had started asking questions at once.

"Can I come with you?" It was Emmitt Bregmann, camera crew in tow, Sam looked at him for a minute before pulling out her cell phone again.

"Yes Carter, he can go with you."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Yes, we might as well get footage of how well our backup plan works."

"Yes, sir."

"And Carter?"

"Yes?"

"Hurry back, Dad's really not happy that I sent you all by yourself," in the background she could hear her father chastising her CO. She chuckled.

"I'll try, sir," she closed her phone again. "Mr. Bregmann, you and your camera crew can come with."

"Really!" He didn't look like he had expected to get approval.

"General O'Neill figures we might as well get some nice footage of the Alpha site..."

"General?"

"He was promoted..."

"Fine, you three, get on the ship." The camera crew didn't look like they had planned on visiting any alien planets in the near future. "Fine, I'll go myself," he took one of the cameras from one of the men, and eagerly hopped around Sam and onto the ship. She just shook her head before following him.

"I'll need everybody to stand away from the ship," she instructed before closing the hatch.

Bregmann looked like he was having the time of his life- until Sam powered up the ship and he discovered that there weren't any seatbelts. "Major! Where are the seatbelts! What are you doing! We can't take off without seatbelts! What about the turbulence exiting the atmosphere?" The poor man was sweating, his camera was sitting on the floor, getting a lovely shot of Sam's heeled leather boots.

"Mr. Bregmann, this is an alien ship. There is no need for seatbelts when we have inertial dampeners and artificial gravity."

"You're the scientist," he said, remembering the camera. The view was as shaky as his hands, as he sat as far back in his chair as possible, still managing to get a shot over Sam's shoulder looking out the front window. He gasped slightly as they shot through the atmosphere and Sam opened the hyperspace window.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" Jacob was really mad, and Jack wasn't happy that this anger happened to be directed at him. _Can't wait till he finds out what we did last time we were on that ship..._

"Jacob, she's a Colonel in the Air Force, she can handle going five minutes in hyperspace to fix a 'gate."

"YOU SHOULD'VE ORDERED HER NOT TO GO." He wasn't calming down.

"C'mon Jacob, you know Carter, you can't talk her out of anything once she sets her mind to it..."

"YOU COULD'VE STOPPED HER, YOU'RE HER CO, SHE HAD TO LISTEN TO YOU!" Jack sighed, the change in their relationship was already affecting their work; there was no way he could expect her to follow an order when he knew she was perfectly capable of doing what he would be ordering her not to do.

"Dad..." he sighed, unwittingly setting Jacob off again.

"Don't _Dad_ me, Jack."

"Sorry," he looked at his feet, feeling very much like the disliked boyfriend even though Jacob had no idea what was going on.

Sam had found herself a distraction; it was one of the training tools they used, making its wearer's voice sound as though they were goa'uld. She'd tested it, trying to see if it still worked, and scared the shit out of Bregmann.

"**Sorry, settle down!**" She said, pulling the thing off her throat. Bregmann had his camera trained on her, not missing a moment. "It's just a training voice simulator."

"Why do you need that?"

"It's the way goa'uld sound when they talk- we use these to train cadets how to react when their teammates become hosts."

"And this happens on a regular basis?"

"No, actually its only happened twice."

"To who?"

"Whom."

"What?"

"It's whom. 'To whom.'" _I've been spending too much time with Jack... no, not Jack. Too much time with the General. _

"To whom?" He repeated, rolling his eyes.

"Myself and General O'Neill, only he wasn't ever completely taken over, we cryogenically froze him, killing the goa'uld before it could take over."

"You were a host to a goa'uld?" Bregmann stepped back. Sam looked at him for a moment.

"Didn't you read that in the reports when you made that documentary?"

"No, I didn't get to read half the mission reports; no clearance."

"I suppose."

"So... you were a host?" He wasn't to be distracted.

"I was host to a Tok'ra called Jolinar. She died while she was in me; I was left with her memories and her protein marker."

"Tok'ra?"

"They are the same as the goa'uld so far as that they need hosts to stay alive, but they only take willing hosts. Tok'ra literally means resistance in goa'uld; they've been rebelling for long than the jaffa."

"Jaffa?"

"Teal'c."

"Oh yeah," he looked like he was trying to remember what they had been talking about.

"How long were you a host?" Sam was saved from answering when they came out of hyperspace and were faced with two motherships and a small fleet of alkesh.

"_Who approaches?" _The radio crackled in goa'uld. Sam knew enough goa'uld to know what they were saying, but didn't want to answer. _I wish Daniel were here._

"What was that? What did it say? Why are there ships here?" Bregmann's camera scanned Sam's face before going to the window and capturing the fleet in front of them.

"There's no way we're getting down there... unless..." Sam grabbed the voice box, glad that she hadn't changed out of her leather. "Bregmann, sit down and shut up."

"Yes, ma'am."

Sam hid the voice box under her shirt, shivering when the cold touched her skin. "_**You're goddess.**"_ She replied in goa'uld, reminding herself to thank Daniel for all the goa'uld lessons he'd given her.

"_The goddess was killed by the Tauri..."_

"_**Choulva! Your goddess cannot die!**" _Sam tried to put as much anger and authority in her voice, which was difficult in the foreign tongue. The jaffa on the other end seemed to buy it, their weapons powered down and the ships parted to let her land on the planet. She visibly relaxed, turning off the radio before turning to Bregmann.

"What did you tell them?" He got up close with his camera, something Sam did her best to ignore.

"A few months ago Ba'al captured me and I was implanted with another goa'uld- his queen."

"Ba'al as in the system lord that attacked?"

"Yes."

"His queen?"

"Yes," Sam didn't look at him or the camera.

"So what did you tell them?"

"I told them that I was their goddess returning."

"And they fell for it?"

"They didn't have confirmation on my death, and they know my voice.."

"How would they know your voice?"

"SG-1 has been bothering Ba'al since we met him- we've had a price on our heads all that time too. We've been kidnaped by bounty hunters specifically for that price."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they don't like us much."

"Why would he make you his bride's host then?"

"To get back at us for various grievances; what better way to get your enemies than making them one of your own unwilling slaves, trapped in their own mind, and you don't even have to pay the bounty," her voice was packed with repressed emotions. The journalist didn't seem to want to press her, and he didn't get the chance. Sam mastered her emotions, turning the voice box back on and facing him. "**I need you to hide in the engine room... Don't touch _anything_."** She told him, leading him to the room as the auto pilot landed.

Bregmann did as he was told, turning off his camera and making himself as small as possible in the hiding place she showed him. Satisfied he would be hidden, Sam turned on her heel and walked out of the room and down the hatch. As soon as she was out of sight he flipped the camera on and snuck up to the doorway, shooting whatever he could get without being seen.

Sam stood with false authority on the ramp of her ship. "**Jaffa," **she said in goa'uld, looking down at them. "**Where is my Lord Ba'al?"**

The Jaffa immediately parted, revealing a surprised looking Ba'al. "**Kehlan?**" He asked, looking up at her as though he wasn't sure how it was possible that she was alive. Sam tipped her head hoping it was the correct response. She made a mental promise to kill him as soon as she was in range; then they brought out the President.

President Hayes was silent, he looked unharmed, as did the flock of important people behind him. "**I am, my lord,"** she responded to Ba'al's question.

"**Was the attack on the Tauri planet successful?"** He asked, pretending as though he'd been expecting her to show up.

"**Of course, my lord. They were no match for your lordship."** His eyes flashed with pleasure at that thought.

"**And my clone? How did he fair?"** Apparently this was the original Ba'al.

"**Killed. At the hands of this host's father."**

"**To be expected; a clone is weaker than a true Goa'uld."** He was covering all his bases.

"**Indeed, my lord."** The President finally noticed who it was that was approaching and relief was evident in his face. So far he'd failed to notice her voice or the fact that she wasn't speaking English.

"Colonel Carter!" He called out, the other dignitaries behind him jerked to look at her. She glanced over at him in a condescending fashion. Trying to appear amused by his attempts at contact.

"**The host does not survive,"** she informed him in English, Ba'al smiled at her and came nearer. Sam grew increasingly nervous. He'd be able to sense that she no longer had a symbiote, he'd know as soon as took another step. That step came and he didn't seem to notice. _Maybe it's because two have been in me now. Maybe the naquadeh is strong enough to fool him._ Still, she didn't want to take any chances.

"**Jaffa: escort the good tauri to the mothership,"** Ba'al said, looking lovingly at Sam. She shivered unnoticeably, edging away from the goa'uld. "**My queen, you will escort them back to our conquered planet,"** he said with pride.

The President and the leaders of the world were the last to be loaded onto the ship; they stood and watched as scientists and other geniuses were paraded onto the ship under Sam's watchful eye. The jaffa began to push the President towards the ship at the same moment that the Alpha Site's self-destruct went off, taking most of the jaffa with it. Ba'al reacted immediately, pulling Sam and the President with him onto the ship. The hatch closed behind them, locking out the rest of the jaffa.

Sam took this as her moment of opportunity, there were only about a dozen jaffa on board, and Ba'al. Sam followed the jaffa escorting the President, mostly to make sure that they didn't harm him, but also to know where he was being taken. The President silently glared at her as they walked down the halls.

As soon as they reached the holding cells, all as full as they'd ever been, Sam made her move. "**Jaffa!"** She said suddenly, they all looked around to see what was wrong. She used the hand device to push the jaffa away, they hit the wall hard, landing unconscious at the base of the wall. As soon as they were all down she took a zat and vaporized all of them before turning to the President. He swung his arm up, aiming the punch at her face, but she twisted out of the way easily. "**Sir, I need you to get into the cell until I can kill Ba'al."**

"Your _lord_," he sneered, taking another swing. She pulled the device out from its hiding place.

"No, sir. There was no other way to get close enough," understanding crept into his face and he stopped trying to hit her.

"Sir, please..." she motioned toward the door to the holding cell. He walked in amiably after a few seconds. "**I'll be back as soon as I can,**" she replaced the device and closed the door behind her.

Not two minutes later Sam was thrown into the cell, nearly landing on the Chinese Ambassador. "**Colonel Carter, I am afraid you have just made things worse for yourself, as usual,**" Ba'al said, pressing a pain stick to her flesh. _Why does he like that thing so much?_ She wondered to herself, barely able to feel anything by the time he stopped. She curled in on herself, instinctively protecting herself from whatever harm he may do her next. He turned and exited the room, "**SG-1..."** she heard him mutter under his breath.

As soon as he was out of the room she popped up to her feet, immediately regretting the popping part. She stumbled sidways, leaning on the door for a moment before looking at the faces in front of her. It was a very familiar room, the largest holding cell on any mothership; she smiled when she realized she'd been there before. She walked over to one of the side walls and traced the scratches that Jack had made during a particularly long stay in this extra-large jail cell. '_I wuz here'_ was crudely etched into the panel by the door, she'd remembered watching him use the edge of his watch to create the marks.

"Colonel?"

"Yes, sir?"

"What're you smiling at?" A scientist she could almost recognize asked, then it hit her; he had been one of her professors at the academy. Astrophysics, if she recalled correctly. She gestured to the scratch in response to his quesiton.

"We've been in this cell before."

"I must say that you have the oddest lifestyle of anyone that I have ever met, by far..." it was the Prime Minister of Great Britain. She shrugged.

"Good news is, I know how to get out of this particular cell," a few raised their eyebrows. Ignoring them, she went to the magnetic panel on the wall and demagnetized it; it had taken her almost a half an hour to get the trick to work the first time she'd tried, but now she knew how it was done.

Pulling the panel into the room with her she peered out, looking for stray jaffa. The hallway was clear. She easily slid out of the horizontal space and jogged around the corner to the door. She took out the pair of jaffa left to guard it and armed herself before opening the door to let them all out.

Sam led the way down the hall, towards the peltak, cautioning them to stay back a ways. Half of them were retired soldiers, and all of them outranked her in their own rights, but none of them complained when she took charge of the situation; she had the most experience aboard alien ships fighting with aliens.

The fight inside the control room was brief, Sam managed to kill all but two jaffa before losing her weapon; she remembered the sword at her side just in time, running one of the remaining jaffa through. The other was soon to follow, Ba'al was much more difficult to kill. He used his hand device to easily throw her across the room, winding her. By the time that she stood up again she found that he was surrounded by the older men that had been following her around. "The colonel needs the help of old men to defeat..." he didn't finish, the 'old man' behind him clenched his hands around his neck in warning. Unfortunately, Ba'al was goa'uld, and he had much more strength than the Admiral holding his neck. He threw he man down onto the floor, taking hold of the first thing that reached his hand- a pain stick. The aging man cried out as the hard tongs cut into his flesh, and light came out of all the openings of his body.

Sam was behind Ba'al in a flash, she pulled his head sideways, breaking his neck and killing the symbiote at the same time. The Admiral slumped to the ground, and Sam threw Ba'al out of the way, helping the fallen man into a sitting position.

"That thing hurts like hell," he announced to the rest of the room. Sam only nodded in agreement, making sure he was okay before going to the controls- they hadn't left orbit yet.

"Thank God," she sighed; she'd never flown a mothership before and it would've been ten times worse if she'd had to turn them around in hyperspace.

Bregmann was in a panic. First she had told him to hide, then she'd gotten aboard the mothership that took off after the base exploded, and now he was left with a field full of jaffa with no way home. He'd retreated to the engine room, pulling himself into the hiding place she had suggested as soon as the mothership had disappeared from view, _Nice going, Emmitt,_ he told himself. _You just had to come along to the alien planet- had to get the best footage ever. Well good going! Now you'll never go home! _He jumped and shoved himself further into his corner when he heard shooting from above outside.

He had just come to true despair when he heard the angel's voice come from the other room.

"Bregmann, we're back! You can come out now, we're going home," Sam walked into the engine room looking a little worse for wear but perfectly fine nonetheless.

"Thank Goodness!" He cried, rushing out of the ship and straight into the field where all the jaffa had been; no sign of them was left after the shooting he'd heard.

**So yeah, my computer is officailly broken. I'm sending it to the wonderful campus tech-people tomorrow. This'll be the last installation until I get it back; could be a same day thing, could be a few weeks (I hope not, i kinda need it for papers and stuff...) Anyways, I hope you like it! I promise i'm not done yet... :) please forgive any errors in the last half, its late and i wanted to get this up so i didn't proofread quite as thoroughly as i usually would. **


	6. Chapter 6

1The world was in an uproar, and the appearance of a mothership coming down from above was not met by happy faces. The general public retreated to their basements once again, ignoring the reassurances of the military. Jack got the best press coverage he could, explaining that it was just Sam returning with the President, but most people ignored this, preferring to jump to the worst possible conclusion. Most felt rather stupid when Sam Carter landed the ship in what was left of Central Park and the dignitaries of the world climbed out of it behind her.

It took months to get things to quiet down. Groups formed full of angry people all over the world, unhappy with the various governments for keeping the secret, and calling for immediate amends. The U.S. military took most of the blame, though nobody could come up with a workable alternative; the press had a heyday in Colorado Springs, interviewing personnel, families, citizens from town, people claiming to be citizens from town, and the multitudes of UFO freaks who made the pilgrimage to the Springs, ignoring their lives that needed reconstruction, just to say that they'd been there.

Emmitt Bregmann's documentary along with edited footage from the retrieval of those trapped at the Alpha Site. SG-1 was getting the most heat off the media, especially Jack and Sam. Jack was the leader of SG-1 first, as well as the current leader of the SGC, and Sam had been painted as a hero by the footage from the Alpha site. It didn't help that Sam hadn't been feeling quite right since she'd returned, and she'd spent most of her time hiding from the world, locking herself in her quarters and rewriting the digital card reader to accept only her own card.

The President and Joint Chiefs hadn't rested either, and their press coverage was equally as great as the attention being given to Jack and Sam. They held press conferences, and held daily discussions via webcam with the powers of the world; everybody had returned to their own country after coming back on the mothership, they were attempting to rebuild their lives too.

Finally, the world seemed to understand what had happened, and what had been happening for the past eight years. Though the press didn't settle down, they did stop crowding the doors to the SGC, letting personnel at least get into their cars and through the gates before causing major traffic jams outside the entrance to the parking lot.

The world was angry at the people who were in charge of the Stargate Program, and those who had known about it and not said anything. Major political arguments were thrown into the open, the U.N. was on overload.

- - -

"You sticking around tonight too, Carter?" Jack asked, approaching her in the commissary well after the time that she had taken to attempting to make it home. She nodded. _Home is kind of broken anyways._ Her driveway needed fixing, she'd already spent hours just getting her car working again, not to mention the gaping holes in the street from various crash-landings.

"Its amazing how much damage Ba'al did to us in two short days..."

"Well, I wouldn't call them short, exactly."

"Yeah, it was more like the longest two days of my life..."

"We had a nice break in there though..." It was the first time either had brought up their twenty hour break from reality. Both had been waiting for the subject to come up though, there was no way it couldn't.

"Sir, there's no changing what happened..."

"I know, but-"

"We're just going to have to live through it."

"Sam... I don't think I can," she gave him a look, waiting for him to explain what he meant. "I can't go back to this- this 'sir' and 'Carter,' not after we had 'Jack' and 'Sam.' Even if it was only for a little while."

"What else can we do? We can't quit the program now; we're the big heroes remember. What kind of a field day would the press have if we left? They'd think something was wrong, they'd think we'd done something wrong..."

"We _did_ do something wrong."

"I don't think it was that wrong..." she whispered. They'd never been so open. Never been so blunt. Many things were changing, and it was all Ba'al's fault. They'd been relatively happy with their circumstances before... there was always a 'maybe,' always 'sometime' to look forward too.

Characteristically, it was Daniel that interrupted their chat, walking over with his dinner tray. "What's going on guys?" He asked jovially, completely ignorant of his interruption.

"Not much, Daniel. How's your apartment doing?"

"Well, its fine... everything got patched up; none of my stuff is missing even though it was unlocked for a few weeks there... Hell trying to get in unnoticed though. If its not the neighbors asking why I didn't tell them, then its somebody named 'Nancy' or 'Steve' reporting from who knows where... this guy asked me for my autograph the other day it was really weird!" He rambled on, complaining about the predicament that they were all facing, and various fans that had made themselves known. Sam was just grateful that she didn't have a building full of people to sneak past to get to her bed- she just had to make it up the driveway. Daniel finally realized that his friends had stopped listening, both were staring into their desserts (Sam's blue jello and Jack's pie), Daniel scrunched up his face, "Jack, why do you always get the last slice of pie?" This got the laugh he was looking for.

It was official. The Stargate Program was now common knowledge, and it had been met with an incredible array of opinions. After the world got used to the idea of wormhole travel, and military exploration, most of them seemed to be okay with it. The defeat of the attacking alien obviously proved that the people running the program knew what they were doing. At least 57 of the people of the world seemed to think this. There had been a vote. The biggest vote in the history of anything. It had decided what to do with the Stargate Program; luckily, it had worked.

Four months had passed since Ba'al's attempted invasion. The world had relaxed to a point where daily news updates from the SGC, and weekly summaries of the reports from Atlantis were enough to keep the people satisfied. A committee was formed in the UN that would regulate the Stargate Program, effectively taking jurisdiction over the program. The personnel were interviewed again and again by a panel appointed by the UN, and cuts were made. SG-1 remained intact, though they were being pressured to add a fourth member again, and Jack was secure in his position as well. Teams were added from various countries as soon as military personnel received proper training, bringing the count of exploratory teams up to 45. Jack was on overload; between paperwork, press conferences, and briefings he was wearing thin.

The same went for SG-1. Sam was mobbed every time she left the SGC, so she busied herself on base. She attended press conferences with Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and Hammond, she read personnel files to try and find the fourth member for the team, and she was still feeling sick. She was hungry all the time too; it wasn't uncommon to find her sitting in the commissasry, eating whatever was available, and reading the files. Daniel and Teal'c worried about her and Jack, though neither said anything. The pair of them were facing extreme press pressures, especially Teal'c being jaffa, but not nearly as badly as the two officers; at least Daniel and Teal'c could make it to their apartment (Teal'c had moved in with Daniel due to the destruction of his own apartment complex in the attack) in less than two hours during what had once been a twenty minute commute. They worried for Sam especially, though her illness went unnoticed by Jack and the doctor's, the friends who didn't have much to do with themselves until offworld travel was an option again had nothing else to do but watch and worry.

"Colonel Carter, are you feeling all right today?" Teal'c asked. He'd made a habit of approaching her at least two or three times a day, usually when he met her in the commissary for a meal.

"I'm fine, Teal'c. Why've you been asking so often?" She set the file down she'd been reading, it was the fifth time she'd read the file anyways. In fact, she wasn't feeling fine at all. Every morning in the past month she'd been throwing up whatever she ate for dinner, and she usually wasn't able to keep down breakfast either. The stomach pain subsided when she got up and going though, but that was when the hunger set in. She was _always_ hungry, and she felt like she could eat the weirdest things. She'd caught herself putting pickles on her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and had stopped herself before mixing her blue jello with whatever dessert she found next to it on a given day; something was definitely up.

"You have been acting very strange. You also have begun to look ill," he watched her take another bite of her strange sandwich. She had dark circles under her eyes as though she hadn't slept at all since the attack, and she had barely gained weight despite the incredible amounts of food she'd been eating.

"I'm fine Teal'c."

"I would like you to go to the infirmary, Colonel Carter," Teal'c said, this wasn't the first time he'd suggested it either. "Let the doctors look at you."

"Thank you for worrying, Teal'c, but I'm _fine,_ I promise," she tried to smile reassuringly.

"Sam- I agree with Teal'c. If you don't get yourself checked soon I'm going to get Jack to make you get checked," Daniel said, walking up and sitting across from her and Teal'c.

"Daniel..."

"What about Jack?" Jack asked walking up.

"We think Sam's sick," Daniel said, ignoring the glare she gave him, and the concern Teal'c displayed. Jack looked immediately concerned and looked at his 2IC carefully for a moment.

"You _do_ look a little off, Carter," he kept looking at her as he set his tray down and took his first bite. "You should get up to the infirmary after you finish your... thing there."

"That is what I have been saying for almost a month, O'Neill."

"A month! And you haven't been up there yet?"

"She hasn't been looking well for longer than that, Teal'c... we were just too busy to worry before that..."

"We shouldn't be too busy to miss something like this."

"Guys, I'm _fine._ There's nothing wrong with me!"

"Carter, get your ass up to the infirmary now."

Sam couldn't argue with that, even with the change in their relationship. She'd worked too long with him to not respect him, plus the last thing she wanted was to bring all 'this' back up with Daniel and Teal'c around. Pushing her tray away from her, she stomped out of the room and out towards the elevator, leaving her stack of files behind.

"Are those pickles?" Jack asked, leaning in and pulling the top layer of bread off of her sandwich. "Ugh... They are pickles- what the hell is up with that?"

"I do not know."

"_Something _is definitely up."

"Indeed."

**Yeah, you can probably already guess whats up with Sam... it always seems to happen in these stories, hopefully this'll be a different take on it that'll keep it entertaining though! **


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm just taking a little time off, is all..." Sam explained to Daniel for the five hundredth time.

"Sam, the 'gate just became the next big thing to make a summer movie about; you can't just 'take some time off'!"

"Indeed."

"Daniel, Teal'c... its you guys that wanted me to get checked out in the first place; I guess you were right."

"Will you at least tell us what's wrong with you?"

"Daniel..."

"C'mon Sam."

"I'll see you soon," she pushed the door close button on the elevator to make sure she got it to herself, or at least was in a separate compartment from Daniel and Teal'c. She was joined on the next level by none other that Jack O'Neill, the last man she wanted to see at the moment and the man she most needed to talk to.

"Hey Carter!" He smirked at her in his way, making her knees begin to feel like jelly. "I hear you've been looking for me?" He glanced down at her civvies before continuing, "Trying to make a run for it before they wake up?"

She smiled, that was why she had chosen to leave at this ungodly hour. It was almost two o' clock in the morning, and it was likely that there were only one or two media vans in the parking lot standing guard on them, instead of the small village that seemed to take residence there during daylight hours. "Yes, sir," she set her messenger bag on the floor next to her; it was a long ride to the surface.

"Looks like you're taking a few days off."

"Yes, sir. Doctor's orders; I was just on my way to tell you."

"What's goin' on?" This was the part she hadn't been looking forward to.

"Sir, we need to talk..."

"I thought we were," she gave him a look. "I thought we had," he revised. She nodded.

"Yes, but... things have changed."

"What do you mean?" The elevator doors opened on the next level that they came to, revealing Daniel and Teal'c looking a little sweaty from their jog up the stairs in order to beat the elevator. Sam glared at them and pushed the close door button before they could get on. "What was that about?"

"They can get on when they meet us at the next level."

"What's going on, Sam?"

"I need to talk to you, but not here."

"Well, both our houses are being staked out... it's gonna be hard not to get a press report on it twenty minutes after I walk into the same house as you."

"I didn't mean not at the SGC, just not in the elevator with Daniel and Teal'c on the next landing," she smiled.

"Okay, your lab then?" the door dinged open again and, sure enough, Daniel and Teal'c were standing there waiting. "You guys trying to make sure the doors work on every floor or something?"

Daniel shot him a look and glared at Sam as they both crossed the threshold. "Whether that was our intention or not, O'Neill, we have discovered that the elevator is working perfectly on every floor we have yet to visit."

"Thanks, T," Jack smirked. Teal'c merely inclined his head.

"So, what's going on inside the elevator that we can't come along for the ride for?" Daniel asked, refusing to drop it.

"Daniel, I already told you to stop asking."

"C'mon..."

"You'll know soon enough," Sam told him.

They continued like this until they finally reached their stop. Daniel and Teal'c were extremely disappointed when Jack reached over and pushed the door close button again, this time to keep the pair of them in. "Jack!"

Jack gave him the 'I'll tell you later so stop whining' look before turning around and following Sam to her lab.

- - -

He'd never seen her so nervous. She took off her messenger bag again and started loading her stuff into it; laptop, notes, she put her stapler in and took it out again twice without even realizing it. "Sam?" She wouldn't make eye contact.

"The doctors told me that I should take a few weeks off to rest before considering coming back on... on maternity stand down."

"On what!" He sat down on his favorite stool hard, almost missing the seat, not able to look away from her.

"Jack, I'm pregnant."

"Jack...?" Sam finally made herself look at him. He had a confused look on his face; it registered that she shouldn't be calling him Jack, but it also registered that she would be calling his that if it were something personal, something to do with their journey back to Earth. "Is it... is it _mine_?"

"You're the only one I've... you know..."

"You don't look pregnant, and that was almost four months ago!"

"I know. Doctors say its because I didn't want to accept I was pregnant, so my body.. something or another. I wasn't really paying attention. They said it happens to teen mothers when they're in denial."

"So your in denial _and _you weren't paying attention?"

"This is serious, sir."

"And now we're back to sir?"

:"Stop it... Please."

He ran a hand through his silvery hair, dark eyes giving nothing away. He was good at blocking things out. He flashed a brief smile, looking her in the eye, "I'd be a lot closer right now if the security cameras weren't already up and running again, due to some ultra gorgeous egg-head who works too much, I might add."

"You would?" She had learned long ago to ignore the extra things that he tagged on to sentences, even though they usually made her blush.

"Of course, Sam. We're going to be parents."

"We?"

"It takes two to tango."

"But... what about the regulations? What about our careers? _What about the press?_" The last one concerned her most. If the Stargate Program wasn't public they might've been able to get by with 'we've saved the world how many times and you can't let us do this little thing?' But now the world would judge them.

"You weren't planning on telling anybody else who the father was?"

"I... I hadn't decided. I could've done it alone."

"No, you couldn't."

"Jack I..."

"I'm gonna drive you home. You're exhausted, you need to rest, buy a couple of pregnancy books; maybe you could learn how to knit- I hear pregnant women like to knit socks and blankets and things..." He smiled, picturing Sam in a rocking chair knitting a huge row or baby booties over her swollen belly.

"Knit?"

"Sure." Sam wanted to ask if Sara had ever knit anything, but knew that would probably going to far. Instead, she just shook her head.

"I can't make any promises about _knitting_, sir, but I will take that ride home."

"Even though the press are probably going to be outside?"

"Well, I just walk out looking like hell and it'll be easy to tell them I had a breakdown or something."

"Only one problem to that."

"What?"

"It is impossible for you to look like hell."

"Shut up," now she was blushing.

"That's insubordination, Colonel."

"I learned from the best, sir."

They walked out of the room to find Daniel and Teal'c both waiting, leaning casually against the wall across from her door. _What did they hear?_ Sam panicked, but Jack covered for her.

"What's goin' on, guys?"

"We'd like to ask Sam that," Daniel was trying to be suave.

"The doctors ordered me off base for at least a week."

"Why?"

"They think I had a breakdown, or was about to have one, or was in the process of having one... something about breaking down."

"Why am I not surprised."

"What?"

"We keep telling you that you work too much."

"And you're so much better Daniel?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well, I know my limits."

"Shut up, Daniel. I'm gonna take her home, stop by my place; I'll be back in a few hours. Don't let anything explode."

"Yes, sir!" Daniel mock saluted. Teal'c bowed his head, standing up and wandering down the hall in his own way. Daniel jogged after him after a moment, leaving Jack and Sam to make thier way to the surface.

- - -

They encountered only one reporter, and the poor man was half asleep. He didn't try to follow them, barely noticing that only one car left the parking lot even though he'd seen two figures leave the building. There weren't even any reporters stationed outside her house when they arrived.

"This is just not fair, Carter... Yesterday night, my driveway was full of people asking me how I felt about the frat regs..."

"Why were they asking you about the frat regs?"

"Kinsey's been running his mouth again."

"With good reason..."

"Yeah, but it's Kinsey," Sam chuckled in response, pulling her bag out and slamming the door behind her.

"Thanks for the ride sir," to her surprise he shut off the engine and followed her inside. "Sir?"

"We need to talk, and besides- there's no security cameras here," he closed the front door quietly and took her bag from her before holding her close. She went weak in his arms, the emotions that had been suppressed over the course of the day flooding into her once again. He pulled her closer, lifting a hand to tilt her chin back; he looked into her eyes, communicating pure happiness before kissing her tenderly. "We should probably start talking before the base wonders where I've got off to..." Unfortunately he had a beautiful blond distraction in his arms and even his superb military discipline couldn't bring the subject back around for another half an hour.

"You're really going to be here for... us?" Sam asked eventually. They had ended up in the kitchen, and Sam was busying herself with tea.

"Of course I'll be here. I told you before, I'll _always_ be here for you and anybody else that comes along."

"Thank you," there were tears in her eyes. He hugged her close again, parting when the kettle started whistling at them.

"How do you want to do this, Sam?" He was watching her make the tea and had realized that her belly was looking bigger than he'd noticed, but it didn't look like a baby could be hiding inside. He immediately began worrying; she wasn't big at all, she could pass saying she'd gained a little weight recently, pregnant women were supposed to look at least a little pregnant by four months. She seemed to notice his staring at her midsection because she put her hand over her belly and came to sit by him at the kitchen table.

"I don't know."

"I don't think I've ever heaerd you say that before."

"I don't think I've ever been pregnant before."

"You mean you're not sure? You might've...?"

"Okay, I don't know because I've never been pregnant before," she chuckled.

"What are you going to tell the base? What are you going to tell Daniel and Teal'c?"

"I hadn't thought about it yet... probably just claim to have been seeing somebody who was killed in the attack..."

"You're going to get endless amounts of pity, you know."

"Yeah... that'll be annoying."

"Especially if its pity about somebody that never existed," Sam smiled.

"Pity for not being able to tell them who really does exist," he returned her smile.

"I think we should tell Daniel and Teal'c- eventually. If you don't want to tell anybody else I'm fine with it, but they should know."

"I agree," she sighed. This was all way too complicated.

"Sam..." he said after a moment of contemplation.

"Hmmm" she was lost in her own thought.

"What are we going to tell Dad?" He nearly laughed at her reaction. Her face went tight and then she jumped up and started pacing.

"I don't know! I hadn't thought about it... What'll he say, Jack!"

"I don't know- he's your dad."

"Yeah, but..."

"He'll probably _kill_ me..." Sam smiled.

"Yeah, your pretty much dead right now."

"So, what's up with Sam?" Daniel asked for the five hundredth time since Jack had gotten back.

"Daniel, we told you- the doctors think she's having a breakdown / had a breakdown / is getting dangerously close to having a breakdown..."

"Yeah, that's what you _told_ us..."

"Daniel..."

"Jack, if you don't want to tell us..."

"I already told you!"

"Jack-"

"Daniel! I'm late for a briefing," Jack stormed out of his office and into the briefing room where the SG-3 marines were waiting;; they'd been throwing impatient glances through the window since they'd arrived. "Sorry about that..."

"Jack, I need you to bring my second laptop back when you stop by tonight."

"Okay. Why, may I ask?"

"Because, its got all my research on it."

"You're not supposed to be working, you know."

"Yeah, I know. But I'm bored out of my mind- I was already all caught up on reports and stuff."

"I told you; knitting is the perfect escape."

"You just don't want to have to go _all _the way _down_ to my _lab_..." Sam teased.

"Well, I'm worried about the elevator. It seems to get an awful lot of use..."

"That's just because you're bored and you push all the buttons..."

"Hey, hey! I always get stuck in there when the guy before me pushes all the buttons!"

"Of course you do."

"Well, I _do_!"

The banter continued for another few minutes before Jack realized he was getting weird looks from the people in the corridors around him. "Hey, I've got to go... I'll talk to you later."

"Sure, sir."

"Bye."

"Love you."

He hung up; had they been too obvious... then he realized that nobody knew who he'd been talking to and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who're you talking to?" Daniel asked, coming up behind him and following him into the elevator.

"What?"

"On the phone? Who were you talking to?"

"Oh! Nobody."

"How's Sam?"

"What?"

"C'mon Jack..."

"Daniel..."

"Fine, fine! I won't ask anymore. When you guys are ready to talk you just come and tell me."

"Thanks."

"We still on for Friday night?"

"Course... what's happening Friday night?"

"Jack!" Jack darted out of the elevator, Daniel looked like he was going to kill.

"Jeez, Daniel; don't worry about it. Six o' clock, my place- how could I forget? I have to pay for Teal'c's pizza habit," they both chuckled. Jack moved off onto towards Sam's lab while Daniel continued on the elevator to the commissary.

In truth, Friday night was the thing that was keeping his mind off of everything else; that and the fact that Sam was waiting for him at home. They had smuggled her in under dark of night during her second week of leave. The press had become more urgent for interviews now that they knew she was on an undetermined amount of leave. Therefore, she'd agreed to live with Jack for awhile, at least until the press vans stopped gathering around her house in such amounts; it was bothering the neighbors. Jack was extremely happy to have someone to go home to, and he was even happier that it was Sam, and that she was carrying his child. Remarkably, he thoroughly enjoyed helping her with her morning sickness, keeping her short hair out of the way and brining her dry toast for breakfast because it was all she could keep down.

- - -

Friday came faster than it ever had before. Sam hadn't stopped pacing since Thursday night, she'd fluffed all the pillows in the entire house at least four times, and had called Jack three times while at the SGC. She had finally switched to maternity clothes, the baby seemed to explode within her as soon as she had come to terms with the fact that there _was_ a baby growing inside of her. Even though she wasn't 'huge' yet she still felt like it, and she wasn't sure she was ready for Daniel and Teal'c to see her in her current state.

She didn't have a choice; they were on the doorstep. "Jack... I'm not sure..."

"Sam, they're going to find out eventually. If we don't tell them now they're going to give us a ton of crap about it later," she groaned, knowing he was right. "Hi guys!" Jack smiled and stepped aside so their friends could come in. Sam had seated herself on the couch, hiding the small bulk of her stomach behind the arm. She twisted around and smiled as they entered.

"Hey, Sam. Didn't see your car out there..."

"Oh, no..." She didn't get to finish the statement because Daniel had come around in full view of the couch and gasped.

"What is it DanielJackson?"

"Sam...?"

She could feel her face flushing. Daniel and Teal'c were both shamelessly staring at her belly which she had unconsciously covered with a hand. Jack cleared his throat and closed the door.

"This is why you left the SGC," Teal'c stated, his voice calm despite his facial expression. Actually his expression was calm as well, but the people in the room knew him too well to be fooled by his 'expressionless' face, clear but for a cocked eyebrow.

"Who's the father?" Daniel asked with a glance at Jack. Sam cleared her throat, biting back a taunt; something about how he shouldn't care about who the father was. Her silence was immediately taken for guilt, and Daniel glanced at Jack, who avoided eye contact.

"Is it not you, O'Neill?" Neither wanted to jump to conclusions, they knew the relationship would be illegal, the child would be illegal. If what they hoped was true was fact, the SGC would probably loose the top two people in the chain of command. Jack cleared his throat and looked at Sam before responding.

"Um. Yeah. Yeah I am."

"WHAT!" Daniel just about combusted.

"Daniel, settle down- its not..."

"What about the regulations? What about the SGC? How is this going to work? I mean, I'm happy for you- I'm glad you two _finally_ got together but... there were some pretty good reasons keeping you apart..." He was looking between the two of them. Sam was staring at her middle, running a distracted hand over the child growing beneath the surface. Jack was switching between watching Sam and watching his feet. Teal'c's other eyebrow had risen to join its brother impossibly close to his hairline. "Guys?"

"It only happened because we thought the world was going to end..." Sam started.

"During the attack!" He couldn't think of a single opportunity they would've had, or imagine that either would want to stop fighting Ba'al long enough to... do the deed.

"On that ship..."

"Aw, guys- I just spent _four hours_ on that ship..." his face crinkled while he tried not to think about what had been done in the same space he'd been. Jack grinned and Sam couldn't keep the humor from her eyes. "I think I need another shower... and a lot of disinfectant for that ship..."

"Daniel!"

"Jack, it's gross."

"You still sleep in your bed after..."

"Yeah, but you're my best friends!" He shuddered, "_Four hours!_" Jack actually chuckled.

"Congratulations," Teal'c said, looking at Sam. She hadn't really spoken yet, and it was always Teal'c that read her the best. She smiled up at him gratefully.

"Thank you, Teal'c," she stood up then, hugging her friend. At first he looked a little uncomfortable with the mass that pressed into his stomach when she hugged him, but he quickly accepted it.

"Congratulations," Daniel smiled. Sam hugged him too.

"I told you they wouldn't mind," Jack told her after she'd finished hugging them.

"Four hours..." Daniel muttered again, getting a glare from Teal'c. "So... what's the plan from here?" He asked, Teal'c's eyebrow raising in Sam's direction.

"Well, we're not telling anybody else who the father is," Sam said. "I told the doctors at the SGC and will be telling my midwives, if they ask, that I had a one night stand, and that I'm pretty sure the guy died in the attack."

"But..." Daniel started, staring between Jack and Sam. "How's that gonna work?"

"What do you mean?" Jack spoke up. "The press has settled down, I can pull off long visits to her house, especially for helping with her new kid. There's nothing against trying to help out a friend."

"What about at the SGC?"

"Well, I'll retire eventually... till then we're just going to find a really good daycare- after maternity leave ends."

"Are you coming back before the baby comes?"

"Yeah, Monday. I'm bored out of my mind here..."

"Here?" It was Teal'c's turn to catch her slip.

"Yeah." Sam said.

"She's been living here for a few weeks now... it's just easier. Morning sickness and stuff. Plus she usually makes me dinner!" Jack smiled broadly. Sam had turned out to be a remarkably good cook, despite her clumsiness with camp-cooking, giver her a cookbook and the right ingredients and she could whip up just about anything.

"You _cook_?" Daniel asked, remembering a few of the camp meals she'd botched.

"Yes I cook... I had a mother you know..." her eyes glazed a little at the memory of her mother, but this was a happy memory and it didn't stay long. "I made us dessert."

Right on time, the pizza guy arrived with six large pizzas with everything on them. Between Teal'c's appetite, and Sam's need to eat for two, Jack had aimed for leftovers though he doubted he'd have any. The pizza guy looked inside and saw Teal'c and realized who he was delivering to.

"Whoa! Can I have your autographs or something?" Jack glowered at him and closed the door in his face. Such occurrences were becoming more and more rare, but every so often somebody would make it around. He'd found one young woman, not even out of high school, following him for an entire weekend. She'd followed him from his house to a team day mini-golfing to O'Maley's (the place had decided to let them back in because they were famous now, and they were good for business and had started a wall of SG-1 memorabilia) and back home; when he'd awoken the next morning she'd followed him to the gas station and grocery store before he'd yelled at her to get a life.

They settled down to eat the pizzas, conversation straying away from the pregnancy and to other things. Sam finally relaxed.

Sam got out of her car Monday morning and caused an immediate uproar with the gathered press. She was glad that she'd though to come early. Setting her watch to go off in fifteen minutes she told the gathered crowd that she'd answer their questions until her alarm went off and then everybody started yelling at once.

It wasn't much better inside the mountain. Most of the reporters in the parking lot had been recording live and so the entire complex already knew what was going on before she even stepped off the elevator. The entire base seemed to have come up with a good reason to be on her route to her lab. She ignored the stares, and the questioning eyes, locking her lab doors behind her and unloading her bags before she realized who was waiting on his usual stool.

"Sir!" She jumped back, nearly dropping her laptop. "You gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry," she glanced up at him. Usually he would've poked fun at her for being surprised, but now he seemed genuinely apologetic about it

"It's fine, Jack..." she pursed her lips, remembering where they were. "Sorry."

"This is going to be more difficult than we thought," he said, finally giving her a smirk.

"Yeah," she sighed.

**Okay, _now_ i'm turning my computer over to the tech guys- sorry!**


	8. Chapter 8

SG-1 had been taken off active duty until Sam's child was born. That didn't stop them from working though. Daniel was always busy translating things the other SG teams brought back, sometimes even going with them to look at ruins, and Sam had her doohickeys to look at. Jack would always come around and complain to her that she shouldn't be playing with possibly dangerous items, but she assured him she'd be fine. Teal'c continued to do whatever he pleased, spending time in the gym and recreation area, accompanying Daniel on his archeological field trips through the 'gate, visiting his family and Bra'tac, and going with other SG teams when they needed an extra man.

Sam continued looking through the files of potential new members for SG-1, wishing they could just go back to being the original team they had been, even though she didn't really mind their current situation. If she wasn't the leader of the team it'd be Jack trying to find a replacement for her.

The day finally came when Sam was officially put on maternity 'leave'. She wasn't allowed to do any work with anything potentially harmful. Instead, she sat around in her quarters and flipped through personnel files. She was almost certain who she would choose, but she didn't have to make the announcement until she returned from leave and she didn't plan to make it before then.

She had chosen to stay on base until the baby was born, letting Daniel take her car to her house so she wouldn't be tempted. She was finding the base less and less interesting the longer she stayed there; she didn't drink coffee so that there would be no chance of caffeine interfering with the baby's development, meaning that she and Daniel didn't have their usual coffee-pot conversations at random hours; she'd tried decaf, but it wasn't the same. She often got cravings that sent her team out to get the proper food items in the middle of the night, errands she was sure they were tired of.

The most painful thing was that she and Jack couldn't be close. Sam considered unplugging the cameras in her quarters, but knew that it probably wouldn't be allowed, even if she did it so that she and her CO could spend some private time together. He was suffering just as much as she was, often offering to take her out to lunch to 'get her off the base.' This was sure not to work because the press would follow them wherever they went hoping for the latest baby update. He had resorted to little things: he didn't complain nearly as much as Daniel or Teal'c when she asked him for green olives and cantaloupe at two in the morning. He would bring her a tray of food in the commissary when they were sitting together when her feet were swollen, and leave little yellow post-it notes on the back of his memos to her that said 'I love you.' If anybody noticed this they didn't say anything, and all they got from Daniel and Teal'c were little knowing smiles.

The contractions started on the busiest night the SGC had seen since SG-1 had stopped going offworld.

She was in the control room, having just finished fixing the dialing computer after a particularly violent virus had killed off all main systems. They had yet to find out where the virus had come from, or how it had gotten into the dialing computer, but it was fixed and that was all that mattered at the moment. She watched as Teal'c and Daniel stepped through the event horizon with the SG-3 marines. They were on their way to back up SG-9 on some planet where diplomatic talks had gone from tense to hell in a matter of seconds. She could finally sympathize with Jack, the anxiety they were both feeling as their friends walked into certain danger without them.

The 'gate shut off just as the first contraction came. She was standing behind Walter's chair and the dialing computer and that was what she grabbed onto. The chair was the type that adjusted to the degree at which the occupant prefers to sit, meaning that it tips back when the seated person leans back, meaning that when Sam grabbed the back of the chair Walter was suddenly sent backwards and almost fell out of the chair in surprise.

"What the..." he said, looking around for the cause of his sudden displacement.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..." she mumbled when she realized what was happening. There was a puddle on the floor where her water had broken. She continued to curse.

"Looks like you're going into labor, Carter," Jack said casually, as he strutted over to remove her hands from Walter's chair. She glared at him from her position, doubled over behind Walter's chair.

"Thanks for noticing, sir," she said when the pain eased.

"Lets get you down to the infirmary, Walter page me if the situation changes, I'll be in the infirmary with Carter," he gave him a look that said not to page him unless Anubis was back from the dead and had a fleet of motherships ready to fire on Earth. Walter nodded in response, regaining his composure as Sam released his chair for the general's arm.

The walk to the infirmary drew many a stare, ranging from concern to excitement. However, the pair of them were completely oblivious to these looks. Jack's face was drawn out with concern for his 2IC every time she doubled over, and a falsely optimistic look every time she looked up at him. Both were silent until they were alone in the elevator.

"Are you ready for this?" Jack asked her carefully.

"I'm ready for it to be out of me, not to be a parent though," she confided. He smiled at her confidently.

"You'll be great," she was excused from answering when another contraction hit.

"This is sure coming quick," she commented after it passed and the doors dinged open. Jack only nodded his agreement and guided her out of the elevator towards the infirmary doors.

"Doc!" Jack called as they walked through the double doors, headed for the closest bed.

"What?" Doctor Cooper came running out of his office hearing the urgency in Jack's voice. He was the new CMO, having arrived a few weeks before the attack on Earth. He was no Janet but he was a nice guy.

"She's going into labor, that's what!" Jack said, as though the officer should've known that even before he left his office.

The doctor patiently got Sam to put on a hospital gown and sit as comfortably as possible on one of the beds. All that they could do was wait for her to dilate enough, until then she and Jack sat in relative silence and wished that there were no security cameras. As it was, Jack was sitting carefully back on his chair, which was pulled as close to the bed as physically possible, but he refrained from grabbing her hand until a contraction hit. He would promptly put the hand back at her side and return his to his lap as soon as the contraction passed.

_This is ridiculous, a friend would be allowed to hold her hand..._ he assured himself, though he didn't want to risk it.

"Doc!" He called again, the contractions were coming every two minutes and, though he didn't want to check, he was pretty sure she was fully dilated.

"Okay, Colonel, you're ready to go... on the next contraction I want you to push..."

"You want me to what!"

"Push, Carter, it's what women do to get babies out," she glared at him.

"In any other situation that would be funny, sir, but you're not the one being asked to push," the last word was strained as she began pushing.

Jack was on his feet, holding her hand at once, ignoring any question of regulations or friendship. This was Sam and she was having a baby- _his_ baby, and he wasn't going to not hold her hand.

"Okay, colonel, you should breath," Cooper reminded her. She hadn't realized that she'd stopped breathing. She felt much better when she started again, Jack's worried grin didn't help much. "Now push!"

She did as she was told, ever the good soldier. It was painful, but she'd survived worse. At least this time she had some pain medication and she wouldn't be thrown into a Goa'uld jail cell as soon the pain passed.

_**UNSCHEDULED OFFWORLD ACTIVATION **_

The call came over the loudspeaker followed by, "_GENERAL O'NEILL TO THE CONTROL ROOM."_

Jack looked down at Sam, torn. "You should go, sir."

"Sam..."

"It could be Daniel and Teal'c."

_Or Dad..._ he gulped, squeezing her hand before sprinting to the control room, taking the stairs over the elevator for the fact that he could jump from landing to landing in his haste.

"What is it, Walter," he asked gruffly.

"SG-3 and 9 are coming in under fire."

"You had to call me down here for _that_!"

"Yes, sir, it's protocol..."

"I don't care if its protocol! Carter's having a baby and she's got nobody up there with her right now! Open the iris," he said in exasperation. Walter didn't dare do otherwise, and opened the iris to allow the teams through.

"What took you so long!" Daniel yelled, keeping his right arm close to his body. It was bleeding from a spot where a staff blast had grazed him near the elbow. Teal'c was looking annoyed, though unharmed. The rest of them seemed to be fine, if a little worse for wear. _It's always Daniel..._ He thought before snapping back to reality.

"Sam's in labor!" He yelled into the microphone. He turned on his heel and ran back up the stairs for the infirmary. Daniel and Teal'c did similarly from the 'gateroom, causing people to leap to the walls; not many had seen the Jaffa running full tilt and now they knew why he was such a valuable member of the SGC.

Jack was holding her hand again when the pair of them clattered into the room, dropping weapons carelessly at the door and ignoring the doctor's protests as they came to stand on Sam's other side.

"Hi guys," she winced, still pushing.

"I've got the head!" Doctor Cooper alerted them almost a half an hour later.

"Took you long enough!" Sam scolded, thankful that it was almost over. Nurses tried to tend to Daniel's arm but he shooed them away, a glare from Teal'c helped.

Claire Elizabeth Carter was born in the next hour.

The team had discussed possible names for the child endlessly. They had come up with a number of names for both girls and boys because Sam had refused to find out the sex. Starting with Homer and Marge, they had worked their way through all the family names on both sides of the family and still found none satisfactory. They had considered many namesakes but had eventually decided on Claire or Cordell for no real reason. Daniel informed them that Claire meant 'bright', or 'famous', and Cordell meant 'binding.' Jack had wondered why it mattered. So Claire was the name of choice, and the Elizabeth followed because it was Sam's mother's name, in the same way that the baby's middle name would've been James after Jack's father had it been a boy.

Claire's first cry was a bold declaration to the world that she was _not happy_. She wanted back where it was warm and cozy and not nearly as bright. "I know, I know, little girl... but you're gonna like it out here too..." Jack cooed in his most un-Jack-like voice. Sam had collapsed back when she heard her daughter's cry, breathing heavily. Jack brought the little girl around to visit her mother as soon as the doctor finished with her.

Sam was exhausted she'd never felt more like sleeping in her life, but the sight of Jack holding their child brought tears to her eyes, driving away most of the exhaustion. Claire had quieted down significantly at the sound of her father's voice, but she settled down even more when she was in her mother's arms.

Doctor Cooper pulled the curtain around them after he had finished cleaning Sam up, promising to come back soon. As soon as the curtain closed around them, successfully blocking the view of the security cameras, Jack leaned down and kissed her. It was the most intimate contact they'd had since Sam had started staying at the SGC. The tears that had come to her eyes began falling in earnest. Daniel and Teal'c looked on with pity for a moment, as the little family celebrated the short time they'd have together before the curtain would have to come back down and the adults would be forced to act as though they were just friends, if that. They slipped out shortly after to get Daniel's arm looked at while Teal'c brought the weapons back to the armory, where Siler was having a fit over the missing weapons.

"She has your eyes," Sam whispered, looking down at her daughter as he hovered over them. It was true, the little girl had dark blond fluff on her head and dark chocolate brown eyes that Sam had been one of the first things Sam had fallen for.

"Hopefully she'll have you're brains..." Jack smiled, kissing her again.

Jack and Sam's moment of bliss slipped away more quickly than either would've liked. Halfway through the preferred length of their kiss, Claire started crying. Sam tended to her while Jack looked on with adoration clear in his eyes. Dr. Cooper interrupted this moment to check on them and Jack was glad that his back was to the man. When he turned there was no sign of the adoration, only friendly excitement.

Sam wasn't allowed out of the infirmary for another two full days, even though she was desperate to walk around after just one. Every person on base came and visited, bringing flowers and gifts (which she was very thankful for due to the fact that she hadn't thought to bring any of the stuff she'd bought for the nursery at home- continually denying that her due-date was as close as it really was). Sam was moved to a bed at the far end of the infirmary so that the gifts could spread out slightly.

There were no cribs in the SGC, so Claire mostly stayed with Sam. When the new mother needed to sleep one of her friends would take her for a walk around the hallways or, if the tiny girl were sleeping too, a bed would be pulled close and pillows would be stacked around to keep her in place. Naps were often cut short by unscheduled offworld activations, something Sam soon detested even more than she had when she had to respond immediately to them.

It took her an hour to make it down to her quarters. Well wishers filled the hallways, cooing over the child and remarking at her beautiful dark eyes. Sam could only hope that nobody would notice that there was a man on base who's eyes matched the child's shade exactly.

Her quarters had been turned into a nursery. One side of her queen-sized bed was mostly pillows and rolls of blankets that would keep Claire from rolling too close to the edge, and it was all baby-proof even though the girl couldn't even support her own head yet. Sam smiled when she saw the plastic covers on the electric outlets, and the assortment of baby toys stacked neatly on the floor.

_UNSCHEDULED OFFWORLD ACTIVATION_

The voice rang through the halls of the SGC for about the twentieth time that day. "You get this one, Teal'c. I need to grab some coffee," Jack made sure his daughter was safe in his friend's arms before heading to the coffee maker.

It had been a little more than a month since Claire was born and she was still perfectly healthy. She was able to hold her own head up most of the time, and she seemed to recognize the four people who she was always safe with. She even had a gummy O'Neill smirk that she'd give them when they came to get her after a nap.

Sam had yet to leave the base, therefore the base was all the little girl knew of the world. She was starting to feel bad about it, plenty of other people had children who stayed with grandparents, spouses, or at a daycare, but her daughter was living with her at the SGC. And a military base is no place for a child. Yet it seemed that the baby was destined to stay there, every time Sam came close to bringing her home something would come up that required immediate attention. The virus that had given them trouble before reappeared in the dialing computer and Sam had to kill it off again, this time going through to the source and making sure it couldn't come back. After this project she'd been exhausted and needed another day to get herself in the proper mind set for bringing a child home. Jack wasn't exactly eager for them to leave either, and kept coming up with reasons for them to stay.

Teal'c repositioned the girl, dwarfed by his huge arms, and walked down the stairs to the control room. Personnel ran into the 'gateroom and took their positions and the iris spun into position over the event horizon.

"It's the Tok'ra IDC, sir," Walter told him, looking to Teal'c for approval in Jack's place. It was odd seeing the huge man holding something so carefully as he was holding Claire, he was taking this godfather thing really seriously.

"Open the iris," Teal'c instructed. Jacob Carter walked through the 'gate carrying bag and looking tired, Teal'c went to receive their guest without a second thought.

"It is good to see you again, JacobCarter."

"Hi Teal'c, where's Jack?"

"He is getting coffee."

"Ah, coffee: the blood of the SGC. Who's this?" Jacob motioned to the baby in Teal'c's arms and Teal'c glanced down as though he had forgotten the little girl's presence, or as though he'd hoped Jacob wouldn't notice; you could never tell with Teal'c. Jacob walked over, peering at the baby in Teal'c's arms and his breath caught in his throat. This was his daughter's child. There was no mistaking the jaw-line, or the shape of the nose; all Carter children were born with a few distinct features. Then Claire opened her eyes; her father's dark brown eyes.

"Hey Dad!" Jack's voice came from the doorway as these thoughts flashed through Jacob's mind.

"I'm gonna kill you, you sonofabitch!" Jacob's bag was on the floor and he dashed at Jack, who reacted with years of reflex. They were quite a sight, Jack running down the halls, trying not to spill his cup of coffee, closely followed by the former Tok'ra. None of the personnel questioned it, most actually chuckled after they'd run past. It was all part of working at the SGC.

**Sorry about the extreme wait in between updates! I handed the computer over and they had to completely erase microsoft word! now i'm using wordperfect or something, it's not the same :( anyways, i hope you've enjoyed this latest installment! there's still more to come, i promise, but it's almost 1am and i kind of have classes and stuff tomorrow...**


	9. Chapter 9

"What did I do!" Jack yelled over his shoulder, running for his office.

"I think you know perfectly well what you did!" Jacob responded, nearly trampling a lieutenant as they came around a corner.

Jacob slammed the door behind him when he reached the office, Jack was fiddling with the door on the other side but, in his haste he didn't realize that it was locked. Giving up on the door, Jack resorted to keeping himself on the opposite side of the desk from Jacob.

"What did I do?" He asked again, nearly tripping over his chair in an attempt to get away from Jacob.

"You _know_!"

"No, I don't! I'm very confused!"

"Who's child was Teal'c holding?"

"Carter's," he said honestly, making sure to use her last name instead of her first name. It took conscious thought to do this, he'd taken to calling her Sam, especially after Claire's birth.

"And?"

"And some guy who died in the attack."

"What?" Jacob stopped, unable to believe that his daughter would have a fling like that.

"That's what she told me."

"And it's eyes...?"

"You have brown eyes, Jacob, and that sort of thing can be passed down..." Jack thought as fast as possible, trying to come up with as many reasons as possible to keep Jacob's temper down. Jacob didn't have a response, but he glared.

The staring contest was interrupted a moment later when Sam, now holding a sleeping Claire on one shoulder, entered the room. "Jack, Claire and I are..." she stopped abruptly, noticing her father for the first time. She spoke at a whisper to keep the sleeping baby asleep. "Dad?"

"Jack?" Jacob glanced from Sam to Jack and back again, surprised at Sam's use of her CO's first name.

"What?" Jack asked, trying to cover the slip.

"You called him Jack," Jacob didn't take his eyes off of Sam.

"So?"

"So, you're on active duty, and he's your CO."

"Dad..."

"You lied!" Jacob said, running around the table after Jack. His voice startled Claire awake and she let out a cry of disapproval.

"Dad!" Sam cuddled her daughter closer, rocking and bouncing in an attempt to settle the child.

In the past few months Claire had developed very specific cries, she had one for when she was hungry, and one for when she needed a change among other things, but she also had cries for certain people, more specifically her parents. This was a cry for Daddy. Sam and Jack both recognized it at once, and Jack immediately came over and took Claire. The moment she saw his face she stopped crying and smiled her gummy smile. Jacob stopped and stared at the man smiling down at his granddaughter.

"You did lie," Jacob repeated, almost as though he hadn't believed it when he said it the first time.

"Dad," Sam started to explain but only managed to distract him.

"Do you have any idea what this means?"

"Dad. Of course, we do..."

"We?"

"Jacob..."

"Don't even _start_ with me, O'Neill!"

"Now we're down to O'Neill?" Jack gave him a mock-offended look, glancing down Claire who was still smiling at him. "Grandaddy doesn't like me, hun," he pouted a lip, and was mimicked by the girl in his arms. Jacob sat down in Jack's chair, putting his head in his hands and his elbows on the desk; massaging his forehead.

"Your careers..."

"Are _fine_, Dad," Sam glared at her father while her daughter gurgled in Jack's arms, she smiled softly at the pair of them before looking back at her father. He was watching the three of them, they were all still standing close together and looked very much like a real family. "I think we should talk... somewhere not on base."

"Good idea," Jack said handing Claire back to her mother. After a moment's protest Claire settled down again, but she wouldn't let go of her father's finger. "Claire... let me go, now... You and Mommy need to take Grandaddy out to lunch; it'll be your first time to leave the mountain, it'll be fun. There'll be lots of pictures," he frowned at the thought of his daughter being swarmed by a flock of cameramen. He glanced at Sam before kissing Claire's forehead good-bye. Jacob rubbed his forehead again before getting up and following his daughter and granddaughter out the door. "See you later," Jack smiled at their retreating backs.

It took them much longer than normal to get ready to leave the base. First, Sam had to gather supplies for Claire, change Claire's diaper so she'd be ready for the ride, change into her civilian clothes, find civilian clothes for her father, and then relocate the diaper bag she'd packed before feeding Claire that had been lost in the process of everything else. Her father watched her, not saying a word. She didn't dare look at him.

Sam took a deep breath and made sure that Claire was completely covered in her carrier before she opened the doors and stepped out. Cameras began flashing at once, and she squinted the entire way to the parking lot, ignoring the microphones that were shoved in her face, and the questions bombarding her from all sides. The fact that her father and her child were making their first appearance to the media at the same time didn't help.

"How long are you planning to stay on Earth, General Carter?"

"How do you feel about your new granddaughter?"

"Will you be visiting your son?"

Jacob fell behind Sam as he was bombarded with questions; though he didn't answer any of them, he wasn't nearly as used to it as Sam and he had trouble ignoring the microphones. Sam already had Claire settled in the back seat and the engine running when Jacob climbed into the passenger seat and heaved a sigh. "I don't think I like them."

"Me neither."

They drove without speaking, Sam had the radio tuned to the classical station because it wouldn't disturb Claire as much as strange voices would. The stopped for a pizza on their way, calling it in as they left the parking lot and only having to wait a few minutes when they arrived to pick it up. Jacob went inside the shop to get it because he wasn't mauled every time he walked into a public place- yet.

Sam's driveway wasn't much better. The news had spread that she had finally left the SGC, and had taken her daughter with her; Jacob was only an extra footnote that made the story all the more valuable. Again, Sam ignored them as she unlocked her front door and entered the house, locking it again behind them. Before the stargate went public she might've opened all the curtains and maybe a window or two, but the last thing she wanted was for the press to look in while she and her father argued about Claire's father.

Deciding to postpone the inevitable for as long as possible, she fed Claire and put her down for a nap. When she returned to the kitchen she found her father sitting at the kitchen table with an untouched plate of pizza and a beer, his bag at the foot of his chair. Sam ate a slice of pizza and poured herself a glass of water before speaking.

"Dad?"

"How did this happen?"

"We thought we were all going to die..."

"So you...?"

"Dad..." This was the last thing she'd ever wanted to discuss with her father.

"Sam, it's _illegal_. It's against regulations for a reason."

"We're aware of that."

"How did this happen?" He asked again.

"Well, Dad, when a man and a woman love each other very, very much..."

"That's not funny."

"I know it's not. Why are you reacting like this? This is the last thing I would've expected from you!"

"I'm sorry, Sam," though he didn't sound sorry at all. "I was just kicked off the Tok'ra base, even though I've been living and working with them for the past how many years? Then I come home to discover that my daughter, who's supposed to be living the perfect life, has given birth to a daughter who, if her parentage is ever discovered, could get both her parents court martialed. It's been a pretty bad day, Sam. And don't take this wrong; I'm very happy for you, she's a beautiful little girl, but Sam..."

"Dad..."

"Couldn't you have used protection?"

"We weren't exactly _planning_ on... you know."

"Yes, I do, and that makes it even worse," he shuddered and Sam couldn't help but smile. She sat down across from him, running a tired hand through her hair. "Who knows?"

"Who knows what?"

"About you and Jack."

"Oh. Daniel and Teal'c."

"That's it?"

"Yeah. Everybody else we would want to tell could be court martialed if they didn't report us and we didn't want to put anybody in that position."

"You're a good girl, you know that?"

"Yeah, well, good girls don't sleep with their COs," that drew a chuckle.

"She has his eyes."

"I know," they paused for a moment, Sam just stared at the box of pizza, while her father started eating his own.

"How old is she?"

"Almost two months."

"You look good, for giving birth less than two months ago."

"Thanks, Dad."

Another pause.

"How are you planning on managing this?"

"We're not sure yet."

"You've talked with him about it?"

"Yeah."

"And..."

"We aren't sure what's going to happen. Neither of us want to quit at the SGC, but we don't want something to happen and she ends up by herself... Daniel and Teal'c have been great for this past month, they're really attached to her. There's plenty of other people at the SGC who have kids who send them to daycare and things, I suppose we can do that too."

"And on the day that Earth is attacked again, or one of your missions goes over schedule?"

"Jack doesn't go on missions anymore, he'd be able to pick her up."

"And when Earth is attacked?"

"The stargate isn't a secret anymore, the daycare would understand where we both would be in that situation," her father's response was a raised eyebrow. "All right, fine. I've been considering giving up command of SG-1 to be the full-time head of the science department; that way both of us will be able to pick her up in the evenings." Sam was saved from his questions by an irritated cry from Claire's room. She was immediately on her feet and in the room, smiling at her daughter.

**I'm so sorry! I've had this done for weeks and I thought I'd posted it- found it tonight and now you have it. Again, so sorry! More will come, hopefully faster :)**


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